Due to the potential that Guatemala has and the commercial opportunities that are envisioned for the future, local authorities will begin to take steps so that the fruit harvested in the country is accepted in the U.S., the main importing market for the product.
In order to start with the procedures to approve the phytosanitary controls imposed by U.S. authorities, Guatemala is making an inventory of pests in the crop.
Betting on the latest technology projects, agriculture 4.0 and seeking alternative products derived from sugarcane so as not to depend on international prices, are some of the lines of action on which the Guatemalan sugar sector will focus in the coming years.
Although sugar prices in the international market have improved between October 2020 and April 2021, in previous years there was a downward trend that pressured mills to explore new market opportunities for sugarcane-derived products.
In this new commercial reality, market opportunities are identified for hygiene and personal care items that are manufactured with natural ingredients and produced with environmentally friendly materials.
Products that provide relief to the skin, given the consequences caused by Covid-19 from constant hand washing and mask use, are other items that consumers value today.
In terms of volume traded, dairy sales to Guatemala have gained ground and are currently the second most important market for Nicaraguan companies.
During the first quarter of 2021 Nicaragua exported 17.14 million kilograms of dairy products, of the total volume 12 million kilograms were purchased by Salvadoran companies, 2.61 million kilograms were placed in the Guatemalan market and 2.04 million kilograms were traded in the United States.
Analyzing the offerings of a supermarket, department store or convenience store and examining what type of consumers frequent those establishments is key to establishing which chains a company's products should be present in to increase their profitability.
By analyzing large volumes of data, it is possible to combine information on the products that commercial establishments sell with details of the types of consumers that are attracted to the different chains.
In Costa Rica, of the total number of exporters whose majority of shipments are in the metal-mechanics, electrical and electronics or plastics sectors, 25% meet a profile of potential participation in global value chains.
An analysis prepared by the Foreign Trade Promotion Agency of Costa Rica (Procomer) explains that "... the 3 sectors agree in selling their products to at least 6 main GVCs: construction (25% of companies), agriculture (23%) trade (20%), food (11%), electronic components and telecommunications (10%) and medical industry (9%)."
The time and cost of maritime routes between Costa Rica and China, and the capacity that the food industry develops to take advantage of existing opportunities, are factors that in the coming years will influence the evolution of the FTA signed between the two countries.
Ten years after the entry into force of the Free Trade Agreement between China and Costa Rica, Costa Rican authorities assure that they are in a continuous negotiation process involving the National Animal Health Service (Senasa) and the State Phytosanitary Service (SFE).
After the Nicaraguan company Astro Packing Solution announced an indefinite closure of its operations, local companies predict that packaging will become more expensive in the coming weeks and will be forced to look for new suppliers in neighboring countries.
Because in this context of health crisis consumers take more care of their food, companies in the Costa Rican market dedicated to the production and marketing of organic food have managed to take advantage of the business opportunities that have arisen.
Analyses carried out at a global level, agree that driven by the search for benefits for their health and immune system, in the current context of changing habits, consumers are beginning to prefer fresh foods more than packaged or processed ones.
Peru demonstrates that through specific actions it is possible to turn a country's gastronomy into an engine of development, a situation that generates opportunities to export a wide and diversified offer of food products.
The international positioning of Peru's gastronomic industry is the result of more than three decades of public/private actions aimed at turning gastronomy into an engine of development, driven by civil society.
Since Chile and Peru do not ship the product at the beginning of each year and that in the highlands of the country there are suitable areas to harvest the fruit, it is possible to take advantage of the commercial opportunities that exist in the foreign market.
Specialists agree that in order to increase the production of this fruit, producers must become more technified, access to credit must be facilitated and marketing policies must be implemented.
From March 1 to 5, 2021, the Colon Free Zone will hold its first multisector virtual trade fair, in which 200 exhibitors will participate and participants will be able to access product catalogs and receive direct attention from suppliers.
The trade fair will feature a wide variety of mass consumption products, regional distribution logistics services and value-added products, informed the Colon Free Zone (CFZ).
Typical frozen foods, traditional beverages from the countries of origin and vacuum-packed fresh vegetables are some of the products that have sales growth potential in U.S. supermarket chains.
There are many opportunities for companies in the region, since it is estimated that two out of every three products placed on the shelves of U.S. supermarkets are of Latin American origin.
Because companies dedicated to the provision of services are more effective than product manufacturers and their growth is more accelerated, economies such as those of Central America could bet on the outsourcing of technology services.
In this context of sanitary and economic crisis, generated by the covid-19 outbreak, several economic sectors were affected due to the restrictions imposed, but, in contrast, companies involved in the provision of technological services reported a significant growth.
During 2020, total sales of cleaning chemical products in the Salvadoran market reached $143 million, 13% more than what was reported in 2019, with Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and Mexico being the main suppliers of local companies.
institutional channel, which have shown an average annual growth of 5% in the last five years, according to a study by the Foreign Trade Promoter of Costa Rica (Procomer).