The union of exporters is preparing a meeting for May with Colombian and Guatemalan companies to look at opportunities offered by the FTA signed between the two countries.
From a statement issued by the Guatemalan Exporters Association (Agexport):
Under the framework of the Export Council for Mesoamerica and the Caribbean at AGEXPORT, the Department of Trade Promotion and ProColombia, held a meeting to organize a major event for next May.
The WTO has ruled that the price band which Peru applies to imports of sugar, rice, corn and dairy products is inconsistent with the organization's trade rules.
From a report by the World Trade Organization (WTO):
"... The recommendations and rulings made by the Dispute Settlement Body aim to achieve a satisfactory resolution of the matter in accordance with the rights and obligations under this Understanding and the covered agreements.
Guatemala exports to South Korea and China have increased by 185% and 382%, respectively.
Details from the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (Agexport) show that South Korea and China are the two Asian countries with the most products sales from the Central American nation, with honey, sugar and shrimp being the main exports.
" ... Over the past year the value of products shipped to South Korea totaled $151.5 million, while in 2012 $53 million was sold, representing an increase of 185.5 %," said Estuardo Castillo, president of Agexport.
The volume purchased by China in the recent harvest is equivalent to that acquired between 2005 and 2011.
In the 2012-13 harvest, three Asian countries purchased 673,843 metric tons (MT) of sugar, equivalent to 35% of the country's total export crop. China bought 341,218 MT giving it h a 20% share, which is equivalent to the amount it acquired from 2005 to 2011, which was 311,073 MT.
Nicaragua is able to sell 10,163 metric tons duty free to the EU.
Altogether, the Central America's total export quota adds up to 150,000 tons.
Mario Salaverria, president of the Sugar Association of El Salvador said the decision to sell the sugar was due to "uncertainty about the problem they had with Italy and that delivery times won't allow them to make the most of this access."
The Guatemalan San Diego Mill exports through the Siepac electricity based on hydro power and bagasse.
The energy which is transported through infrastructure of the Electrical Interconnection System for Central America (Siepac) "... is derived from two sources, water and biomass obtained from the use of sugarcane bagasse", reported of S21.com.gt.
"Of the 8,500 megawatts of power required in the region, El Salvador consumes one thousand and has an estimated growth rate of 3.5%," said Ottoniel Alfaro, project manager.
Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala managed to place the product in Europe at $480 per metric ton, $120 above the price on the international market.
The auction was held under the framework of the Association Agreement between Central America and Europe. Although it was possible to place the sugar at a good price, producers had wanted to sell it for $500 per ton, said Mario Amador, general manager of the National Committee of Sugar Producers (CNPA).
Nicaragua and Honduras are allowed to sell 65,000 more metric tons duty-free to the European Union.
The country has given approval for both Nicaragua and Honduras to receive this benefit temporarily, until the trade agreement becomes effective for Guatemala. "The Council of Ministers of Economy and Trade for Central America (Comieco) gave authorization this weekend for each country in the region to be able to make available its quotas at will" reported Nicaraguahoy.info.
The European Union will not mediate in the distribution between the Central American countries of the sugar quota of 60,000 tonnes allocated to the region.
"The European Union will only check the total regional quota has been reached and will not intervene in how it is distributed among the five Central American countries. The distribution and quota management is an internal matter for the Central American region," said Klara Klanska, commercial counselor of the EU to Central America.
The country won't cede its sugar quota to Nicaragua and Honduras, and it opposes to Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama conceding theirs.
For Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador the Association Agreement with the European Union has not yet entered into force, so they are prevented from offering their sugar in an auction where 35 buyers bid to bring it to market in the old continent.
Nicaragua and Honduras want to regionalize the EU quota, to be able to offer 53,000 tons of sugar.
Producers want the export quotas that the sugar growers in Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala were not able to meet, as in those countries the Association Agreement is not yet in force, said Mario Amador Rivas, general manager of the National Committee of Sugar Producers (CNPA).
During the first six months of 2013 the country received $700 million from exports of sugar.
Sugar sales during the first half gave a big boost to other exports. According to the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat), up to June exports reported a total of $5.298 billion, up 1.6% from the income generated in the same period in 2012 which was $5.215 billion.
According to Armando Boesche, manager of the Sugar Association of Guatemala (Asazgua), the country saw a record harvest and last September and at the beginning of 2013 it was possible to quote a good price for the product on the stock market. "I hope that prices don't drop because different producing countriessuch as Mexico and Brazil have also had plentiful crops," he said.
Although the Peruvian Congress has already ratified the FTA, they have indicated that it will not enter into effect until the dispute raised with the WTO over sugar has been settled.
The controversy which has been passed on to the WTO over the rise in Guatemala sugar tariffs is keeping the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries paralyzed.
The sector, which was ready to export 10,000 tonnes of sugar to the European Union, must wait two more months to do so.
Non-acceptance by dairy farmers in El Salvador and Costa Rica of the geographical indicators for Italian cheeses has caused a delay of at least 60 days of the entry into force of the Association Agreement with the EU.
"We were ready to export, but if there is no treaty we will have to send the sugar to another market at a lower price than would have been paid by the Europe" said Julio Arroyo, CEO of the Sugar Association of El Salvador.
So far this year 37 million quintals of sugar have been exported, keeping pace with increasing global demand.
Statistics from the Sugar Association of Guatemala (Asazgua) indicate that the export season ending in October, could close with growth of 10% compared with 2012 sales.
Mario Yarzebski, the person responsible for International Trade Negotiations at Asazgua, revealed that the increase in export volume is due to the effect of supply and demand. "There were favorable weather conditions in the previous harvest which increased yields in the field and factory," he said.