Businessmen of the sector estimate that annually they export near $9 million in bovine meat, below the $10 million reported in imports.
For the National Federation of Farmers and Cattlemen of Honduras (Fenagh) it is contradictory that the trade balance is unfavorable, since the annual production of meat is 60 thousand tons, and in spite of having surpluses it is resorted to the import.
After completing all the requirements, Panamanian authorities announced that next June 21 will leave the first container with 200 tons of beef bound for the Asian country.
At the end of March, it was reported that the meat product plants that received the endorsement of the General Administration of Customs of China to start marketing their products were Matadero de Chiriquí, S.A. (Machisa), Unión Ganadera, S.A. (Ungasa) and Macello.
Guatemalan authorities will meet with a committee of the World Organization for Animal Health, in order to declare the country free of classical swine fever and restart foreign sales.
The restrictions date back many years, since in 2011 the countries of the region established barriers to the entry of pork from Guatemala, after the presence of Classical Swine Fever was detected.
Between the first quarter of 2018 and the same period in 2019, the number of cattle slaughtered in Panama increased 6%, while the slaughter of pigs decreased 7%.
The most recent data from the General Comptroller of the Republic of Panama detail that in the first three months of the year 82,279 head of cattle were slaughtered, a figure higher than the 78,015 reported in the same period of 2018.
From January to September 2018, countries in the region reported $422 million in beef sales abroad, and exports to the United States grew 16% over the same period in 2017.
Data from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphics]
The socio-political crisis that Nicaragua has been suffering since a year ago, together with the recent tax reform, forces businessmen in the livestock sector to postpone investments in genetic improvement and technology.
Nicaragua's businessmen have been dealing hard times in the last year, because in the midst of the political and economic crisis that Nicaragua has been facing since April 2018, the National Assembly approved in early 2019 a tax reform that raises the income tax of large taxpayers from 1% to 3%.
In Panama, the processing plant Union Livestock received the endorsement to market beef in the Asian country, and it is expected that the first containers will be shipped in late April.
At the end of last year, it was reported that the meat product plants that received the endorsement by the General Administration of Customs of China to start selling their products to the Asian giant were Matadero de Chiriquí, S.A.
After the death of at least two thousand head of cattle was reported in Guatemala, authorities and producers agreed to work to establish "in a scientific manner, the cause of bovine mortality.
For the purpose of determining in a conclusive way the factors that cause this sanitary phenomenon in Petén, several sectors of the productive chain of meat and milk of this department were summoned last Monday, March 18, to integrate a technical table that establishes in a scientific way, the reason for bovine mortality, explained the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (MAGA), in a press release.
In Honduras, annual per capita consumption is estimated at 11 pounds, but by 2025 producers expect the figure to rise to 18 pounds.
Figures from the National Association of Pig Farmers of Honduras (Anapoh) detail that during 2018 the consumption of pork in the country reached 103 million pounds, of which about 36 million pounds were produced locally, and the remaining volume was imported, mainly from the U.S.
Although exports have tripled in the last three years, mainly because of increased sales of medical equipment, sugar, ethyl alcohol and meat, the business sector's expectations are not as optimistic.
Data from the Foreign Trade Promoter (Procomer) specify that in 2016 Costa Rican exports to China totaled $46 million, in 2017 registered $111 million, and in 2018 rose to $200 million.
The barriers imposed by the Honduran and Panamanian markets, coupled with the negative effect of the recent tax reform, force Nicaraguan cattle ranchers to predict a bleak future.
Figures from the National Livestock Commission of Nicaragua (Conagan) specify that between 2017 and 2018 meat exports from Nicaragua fell by 7.9%, from $587 million to $541 million, and in the case of dairy, the fall was 8.4%, going down from $177 million to $162 million.
The Panamanian government's decision to raise the tariff on meat imported from Nicaragua from 3% to 30% to allow local producers to compete has so far shown no clear results.
In September 2018, the Panamanian government decided to establish barriers to the entry of Nicaraguan beef by raising the import tariff from 3% to 30%. This has not had the expected effects, as the prices paid to local producers have not risen.
Between January and November 2018, the number of slaughtered cattle remained unchanged from the same period in 2017, while the number of pigs slaughtered increased by 9%.
The latest figures from the General Comptroller of the Republic of Panama detail that in the first eleven months of the year 297,790 head of cattle were slaughtered, a figure similar to the 296,703 reported in the same period of 2017.
During the last year, 70% of imports of poultry for fattening, poultry for breeding and processed meat were made by companies in Guatemala, Panama and Nicaragua.
From the "Poultry Market in Central America" report, developed by the Trade Intelligence Department of CentralAmericaData:
Between January and October 2018 and the same period in 2017, the number of slaughtered animals was unchanged, while the number of pigs slaughtered increased by 10%.
According to the latest data from the General Comptroller of Panama, in the first ten months of the year, 270.120 head of cattle were slaughtered, a similar figure to the 270.134 reported in the same period of 2017.