Scheduling medical checkups for the staff, preparing the housing modules to maintain social distance and adapting the logistics of transporting people are challenges that the sugar mills will face during the 2020-2021 harvest.
The sugar cane harvest that is about to begin represents a source of employment for thousands of people in the region and in this context of the propagation of covid-19, the companies will have to face multiple challenges to get the harvest going.
Using technology to measure the flow of visitors, reducing the furniture available in the food courts and implementing product deliveries in the parking area are part of the changes that the region's shopping centers must apply in this new reality.
Because of the threat of the spread of covid-19, since mid-March in Central America, the authorities agreed to close the shopping centers.
In Central America, it is estimated that the sectors that could expect a severe impact on sales in the coming months are Transport, Entertainment and some sub-sectors of Industry and Trade.
The "Information system for the Covid-19 Impact Analysis on Business", prepared by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, measures the degree of impact that the crisis will have on companies according to their sector, during the coming months.
Identifying critical business needs and setting up plans on how to maintain supplies and operations, as well as establishing communication channels with suppliers to be informed in case of any eventuality, are part of the advice for companies.
The coronavirus has already affected the world economy, and its effects do not seem to stop. With countries in quarantine, financial markets in the black and international trade diminished, the economic outlook is not very encouraging, explains a document from the Guatemalan exporters' union.
The partial suspension of employment contracts and social security payments are some of the proposals made by employers in Costa Rica to maintain employment levels in the face of the spread of the Covid-19.
Representatives of the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP), predict that if urgent actions are delayed, unemployment could rise from 12% to 19%.
Faced with the advance of the coronavirus epidemic, businessmen in the region are asking citizens to follow only official recommendations to avoid giving way to disorienting versions that only contribute to generate instability and uncertainty.
In Central America, two countries have registered people infected with the virus. Costa Rica was the first to report cases of COVID-19 (also known as coronavirus) and so far the nation has registered nine infected people. Panama made its first case official on 9 March.
Costa Rican authorities issued a health alert because they are marketing anabolic medicines, multivitamins and dewormers without registration in the country.
The Directorate of Veterinary Medicines (DMV) of the National Animal Health Service, explained that the compounds that are being offered on social networks and some websites are Injectable Crecibol and the vitamin Engordan Plus Ande.
Reports of African Swine Fever in Asia alert countries in the region to strengthen border controls, especially in the management of food waste from airplanes and ships.
The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) urged the strengthening of animal health and public and private veterinary services in the member states to prevent the recurrence of African swine fever (ASF) in the region, the institution warned in a statement.
Food entering the European Union will now be overseen by a new system of health inspections to verify compliance.
From a statement issued by the Foreign Trade Office of Costa Rica:
On November 17, a new system comes into force to control health alerts according to Decision 2015/1918 of the European Commission, published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) on 24 October.
Sanitary and quarantine measures have been implemented on the farm where the outbreak was detected in the province of Alajuela.
The Ministry of Agriculture has provided for the implementation of sanitary and quarantine measures to control the disease on the farm where the outbreak was detected in San Jose de Upala, and prevent its spread to other areas.
Due to the presence of the outbreak of the Newcastle avian disease in the north of Costa Rica, health alerts were activated at the border and entry of poultry from the neighboring country has been banned.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Agricultural Development in Panama (MIDA):
Following the occurrence of an outbreak of avian disease known as Newcastle disease in Costa Rica, a meeting was held in Mexico between the National Poultry Technical Commission (COTAN), in order to facilitate prevention and apply mitigation measures in the provinces of Chiriqui and Bocas del Toro.
Warnings are being given of shortages in the market, after the Phytosanitary Service banned the import of the fruit from nine markets.
According to the director of the State Phytosanitary Service (SFE), at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), the decision to ban imports of avocados from Australia, Spain, Ghana, Guatemala, Israel, Mexico, South Africa, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Florida, in the US, was taken to prevent the entry of the virus known as Sun Blotch, present in these markets. The Chamber of Importers of Perishables Products ensures that there will be a shortage because "... only 20% of total consumption (14,000 tonnes) are harvested in Costa Rica."
The National Animal Health Service has identified an outbreak of Newcastle velogenic disease in four poultry farms in Guanacaste, where sanitary and quarantine measures have been imposed.
71 sick birds have been reported 65 out which have died from the disease, therefore in order to avoid contagion in nearby farms the movement of animals and poultry in the area has been prohibited.
The National Animal Health Service has identified an outbreak in a cattle farm in Puriscal, Province of San Jose, where it has established sanitary and quarantine measures.
From a statement issued by the National Animal Health Service (SENASA):
The National Animal Health Service (SENASA), at the Ministry of Agriculture, has detected an outbreak of bovine paralytic rabies in a farm located in Puriscal, in the district of Mercedes Sur, specifically in the village Quebrada Honda, in the Province of San Jose, where a bovine has died.
The presence of an outbreak of beetles has been detected in coffee plantations in the states of Espirito Santo and Sao Paulo, where they have declared a state of phytosanitary emergency.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Agriculture in Brazil:
The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Storage (MAPA by its initials in Spanish) has declared a state of phytosanitary emergency in Sao Paulo and Espirito Santo because of an imminent risk of an outbreak of Hypothenemus hampei, popularly known as Coffee Berry Borer (CBB) or 'broca' in Spanish.