New Holland, a company engaged in the manufacture of clothing and which has been operating in the country for 15 years under the free trade zone regime, announced that it will close operations in the last days of May.
The company's decision to leave Nicaragua is due to the fact that the country does not have the adequate technological machinery to compete with the garments it manufactures for the Under Amour, Nike and Adidas brands.
During the first weeks of 2021, interest in children's clothing measured by online searches and mentions in conversations in the digital environment, increased in Panama and Guatemala, and decreased in the case of the other markets in the region.
Through a system that monitors in real time changes in consumer interests and preferences in Central American countries, developed by CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project short and long term demand trends for the different products, services, sectors and markets operating in the region.
Under the brand of Tiendas Rechido, Corporación Megapaca opened its first store selling second-hand clothing in the city of Morelia, Michoacan.
The new store operating in the Mexican market will make available to the public 50 thousand garments and the business strategy of the business group is to enter the Mexican market as an environmentally sustainable fashion option.
After the impact caused by the covid-19 outbreak, Nicaraguan businessmen in the sector estimate that in the first seven months of the year the maquila industry have stopped exporting close to $300 million and have had to lay off some 6 thousand employees.
The drop in demand in the United States, which is one of the main destination markets for exports of clothing made in Nicaragua, explains part of the drop in income for companies operating in the country.
After the demand for clothing fell in the world's main markets due to the health crisis, Salvadoran entrepreneurs are confident that in the coming months it is possible to recover part of the sales initially projected for this year.
The social distancing decreed due to the covid-19 outbreak caused consumer preferences to change in the main markets, as the demand for comfortable clothing to be at home has now rebounded.
For the next few months, it is estimated that in the Guatemalan market, sales of men's pants will decrease by about 5% from the levels reported prior to the change in the business scenario.
For the time that the State of Emergency is in effect, the authorities ordered the paralysis of the activities of the production plant of the company ADOC, located in Montecarmelo, Soyapango.
On May 14, the company faced an inspection by the Ministry of Labor, in which seven inspectors, escorted by agents of the National Civil Police, a contingent of soldiers from the Armed Forces and reporters, demanded to verify the working conditions in the production of supplies for the emergency, the company reported.
The impact that the crisis will have on companies related to the textile, leather and clothing sector in Central America is estimated to be explained, to a greater extent, by the expected drop in sales of carpets and curtains.
The "Information System for the Impact Analysis of Covid-19 on Business", developed by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, measures the degree of impact that the crisis will have on companies according to their sector or economic activity, during the coming months.
Following the spread of the virus globally and the suspension of some production in China, several garment companies in the region have reported increases in their orders.
The spread of the epidemic has stopped much of the economic activity of the Asian giant, which is the largest exporter of textiles in the world. This situation has forced buyers to look for alternatives.
Between 2010 and 2019 exports of textile companies in Guatemala reported an average annual growth of 2%, a rise that is attributed to demand from companies in the United States.
According to figures from the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat), the manufacture of clothing items was the sector that generated more foreign exchange during the past year, as revenues amounted to $ 1,397 million.
The Chamber of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica is recruiting businessmen who wish to attend a business roundtable, to be held from May 13 to 17 in the city of Brusque, Santa Catalina in southern Brazil.
Depending on the profile of each company, there is the option of covering tickets and lodging for one attendee per company at the event, informed authorities of the Costa Rican Chamber of Foreign Trade (Crecex).
During the first two months of the year, exports of the Guatemalan textile sector registered a 4% year-on-year increase, which is explained by demand from U.S. companies.
According to the most recent figures from the Bank of Guatemala, between the first two months of 2018 and the same period in 2019, overall exports fell from $1.808 million to $1.751 million.
After a 7% increase in exports during 2018, Guatemala's apparel and textile sector expects to reach $2 billion in sales this year.
Factors such as the crisis in Nicaragua and an increase in customer demand in the United States partly explain the growth reported last year by textile companies in Guatemala.
The political situation in neighboring Nicaragua led to an increase in the number of work orders, and the 8% increase in U.S.