In the last year, 56 environmental impact studies were presented for the construction of industrial plants in Central American countries.
The interactive platform "Construction in Central America", compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData, includes an up to date list of public and private construction projects for which environmental impact studies (EIA) were submitted to the respective institutions in each country.
The Salvadoran government has decided to postpone until November 1 the entry into force of new requirements for importers of dairy products.
After meeting with the heath authorities in Nicaragua, which is where most of El Salvador's imports come from, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) decided to grant importing companies more time to get up to date with the new health requirements in the new regulations.See "El Salvador Tightens Controls on Dairy Imports"
A report by the SIECA shows the composition and characteristics of the production and export of dairy products in Central American countries.
From the report "Analysis of the Central American dairy market and its derivatives", by the SIECA:
Dairy products constitute a wide range of goods that are important for human consumption, and contribute to the development of local economic activities linked to extraction, processing, industrialization and commercialization.The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that about 150 million households are engaged in milk production and more than 6 billion people are consumers of milk and milk products.
The Mexican company Lala will be building a milk, ice cream and by-products factory in Guatemala, with capacity to process 5 thousand tons of products per month, and it will start operating in the first quarter of 2018.
The 12 thousand square meter production plant will be built in Escuintla and will have a production line of pasteurized milk, ultrapasteurized (UHT) milk and ice cream.
In 2016, the value of trade in milk and milk products among the countries in the region amounted to $299 million, 4% more than that was sold in 2015.
Figures from the information system on the Central American Market for Milk and Dairy Products, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Clic para interactuar con la gráfica"]
The Mexican company Lala plans to invest $14 million in the expansion of its plant in Alajuela and to start selling milk and ice cream in the Costa Rican market, starting from 2018.
The investments being made in Central America by companies in the dairy industry reflect the growth potential of this business in the region, where per capita consumption of milk and dairy products has been growing during the last years.
There still remains tasks to be completed in the process of preparing to compete with milk and dairy products, which in 2025 will start to enter the country duty-free under the CAFTA.
In regards to how to prepare for the next market opening, José Antonio Madriz, President of the National Chamber of Milk Producers, told Nacion.com that there still remains work to be done, and that they"... have approached the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) several times, as lead agency, to establish joint plans between the private sector, government, universities and other research centers, but the result is insufficient."
The union estimates it will manage to export $200 million, after closing 2016 with $172 million due to health conflicts that led to the temporary closure of neighboring markets such as Costa Rica.
The difficulties faced by the dairy industry in Nicaragua in mid-2016 with theconflict over trade in dairy products with Costa Rica, and the temporary closure of the market in Honduras affected the overall performance of the sector, whose exports did not exceed the $200 million that had been achieved in previous years.
Infant milk formula and yogurt are the derivatives which recorded the highest increases in demand between September 2015 and August 2016, compared to the same period last year.
The figures presented in the National Dairy Congress in Costa Rica, held in October, indicate that demand for dairy products grew at a rate of 6.5% last year, driven by increased demand for products such as yogurt in its different presentations, milk formula and cheese, among things.
It is estimated that "the worst of the crisis" in international milk prices could be ending this year, with better levels starting to be established in 2017.
In an event held in Managua, experts from the Pan American Dairy Federation (FEPALE), explained the trend seen in the international price of milk and the effect it has had on exports from countries such as Nicaragua, which ranks as the fourth largest exporter of milk and dairy products in Latin America.
Health authorities in Costa Rica have given their endorsement to two plants belonging to Grupo Lala in Nicaragua so that they can once again market their products.
The authorization for Grupo Lala comes at about the same time as the authorization granted by Nicaragua to theentry of products from the Costa Rican company Dos Pinos, ending a conflict which for several months affected the performance of the sector in both countries.
The Costa Rican company Dos Pinos has confirmed that it has received verbal authorization to export its products to the neighboring country, with a written endorsement being imminent.
The milk cooperative Dos Pinos may have solved the nonconformity issues that led to the Nicaraguan Institute for Health and Agricultural Protection preventing entry of dairy products from this company to the local market.
In 2015 Nicaragua led exports of milk and milk products in the region, with $200 million in sales, followed by Costa Rica, which exported $111 million and thirdly Honduras, with $26 million.
Data from for the Milk and Dairy Products Market in Central America, provided by the Business Intelligence unit at CentralAmericaData.com, shows that in 2015 the countries in the region exported 226 thousand tons of milk and dairy products such as cheese and cottage cheese, buttermilk, yogurt, curd and dairy spreads, among others.
The health authorities have announced that they have reached an agreement, but no dates or deadlines have been set to resume sales of the product between the two countries.
Theagreement announcedby the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Costa Rica and theInstitute for Protection and Agricultural in Nicaragua only mentions assessments to be made in plants belonging to the companies Dos Pinos and Grupo Lala, but does not mention dates on which they will be carried out or deadlines for the resumption of bilateral trade in milk.
In Nicaragua evaluation will be given to the solutions proposed by Dos Pinos regarding noncompliance detected in the plant and Costa Rica will be provided with a list of suppliers to LALA dairy farms that meet the standards.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in Costa Rica:
After two days of work between the technical teams of the National Animal Health Service (SENASA) at the Ministry of Agriculture and the Institute for Protection and Animal Health (IPSA) in Nicaragua, Nicaragua and Costa Rica have reached an agreement on resolving the issues of noncompliance found in dairy plants in both countries.