Cargill is preparing to start-up in April this year a new chicken meat processing plant, located on the road to Masaya.
Although the plant will not operate at full capacity initially, it will have a total capacity to slaughter 13,500 birds per hour for two eight-hour shifts each day, six days per week.
Xavier Vargas Montealegre, director of Cargill Nicaragua, told Laprensa.com.ni that "... The plant will employ 975 people and will have two processes: in the primary one the birds will be slaughtered and in the secondary one it will cool, split and pack the chicken and then move it to the storage and distribution center."
The Hernández administration has denounced the fact that Guatemalan authorities are imposing non-tariff barriers on the entry of chicken from Honduras.
The head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Honduras, Jacobo Paz, announced that since they have not been able to resolve the problem with their counterparts in Guatemala, they will submit the case to the Council of the Minister of Economic Integration (Comieco).
Annual per capita consumption of chicken meat in Central American countries increased from 19.8 kilos in 2008 to 25.9 kilos in 2016, and growth was driven mainly by Panama.
The upward trend in regional chicken meat consumption has been steady in recent years, growing from 814,000 tons in 2008 to 1.2 million tons in 2016.
With a $5 million investment a farm to fatten up chickens was inaugurated in León, and it is expected to produce about 3 million chickens a year.
The mixed capital poultry company (Nicaraguan and American) is called Castillo Poultry LLC and is located in the municipality of La Paz Centro, in León.
ProNicaragua reports that the company signed a production contract with Cargill from Nicaragua.
By the end of the year the chicken meat processing plant that Cargill is building on the road to Masaya will be ready to start operating.
Representatives from the food processing company explained that the new plant, which is added to the current two with modern infrastructure and equipment, required an investment of $40 million.
A favourable ruling has been given to the appeal by Escalas Mercantiles Innovadoras, with the temporary suspension of the collection of a 13.8% tariff on imports of chicken out of the quota.
Elperiodico.com.gt reports that "...Among the arguments presented by Escalas Mercantiles is the fact that in January they still paid zero percent tariff. Furthermore, the change, according to the arguments put forward, violates rights such as freedom of industry, trade and labor by publishing a new list which amended tariffs without prior publication of a ministerial agreement where these changes are agreed. "
The Honduran firm Avinicsa has opened a chicken fattening farm in northern Mexico with an investment of $3.1 million and with capacity to produce 5.4 million kilos a year.
The company founded on Honduran Capital, Avinicsa, has announced the opening of a broiler farm in the municipality of Tipitapa (25 kilometers north of Managua) which will produce about 410,000 chickens a year.
As reported at the end of 2015, from February 16 a reduction from 15% to 13.8% will be in effect on the import duty incurred on chicken rump.
The tax paid by importers for rump chicken went from 15% in 2015 to 13.8% in 2016, confirmed the Deputy Minister of Integration and Foreign Trade, Enrique Lacs to Siglo21.com.gt.
Cargill has inaugurated a new cold storage and distribution plant southeast of Managua, with capacity to store up to 8 million pounds of chicken meat.
In addition to the new plant, in which $50 million were kkinvested, Cargill announced plans to invest $100 million over the next three years in three new projects, including a plant for shrimp food, in which it plans to invest $12 million.
The endorsement from the Panamanian Food Authority is for imports of meat products of bovine origin and meat from birds, from both countries.
From a statement issued by the Panamanian Food Authority:
In the thirty-seventh regular session of the CCTSA, a Health Assessment audit report was presented for approval of Paraguay's Eligibility to export meat products of bovine origin to our country.
Cargill has started construction of a processing plant and refrigerated warehouses which in ten years could be producing 400,000 birds per day.
From a statement issued by Cargill Meats Central America:
Cargill de Nicaragua SA today announced a major new investment in Nicaragua to continue contributing to the development of this country and has as its aim to continue guaranteeing the supply of chicken, using international standards and standards of quality and safety, for all Nicaraguans.
Poultry producers are awaiting the arrival in September of safety inspectors from the USA to complete the process and obtain a final certification to export chicken meat.
The food safety and security certification process needed to obtain the sanitary permit to export chicken meat to the United States is nearing completion for the poultry industry in Honduras.
Increased competition and rising production costs are causing firms in the sector to revive their production processes with new plants, equipment and electrical systems.
The three companies which dominate 92% of the market for chicken meat and its derivatives are making significant investments to modernize their production processes in an increasingly competitive world where consumption has maintained a steady upward trend.