High social charges, excessive regulations for businesses and the high price of labor are factors that prevent Costa Rica's economy from reaching its growth potential.
In Costa Rica, establishing a personally owned company without employees is up to three times more expensive than what it can cost in a country that belongs to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Because yellow corn is imported from the United States at a price of $11 per quintal in Nicaragua and the cost of producing a quintal of sorghum locally is $12.5, competition for local producers is nearly impossible.
Nicaragua is part of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement, an agreement that allows yellow corn from the United States to enter the local market free of tariffs.
After Grupo Lala decided to close the operations of its dairy production plant in Costa Rica, a debate began over whether Dos Pinos' dominance in the local market was due to protectionist policies or to the brand positioning, quality and price of its products.
In Guatemala, the Ministry of Health will delay for six months, the entry into force of the increase in the cost of procedures such as the issuance of licenses and health records, necessary to market food and medicines.
On December 1, 2020, by means of Governmental Agreement 179-2020, the new fees for the services of procedures of licenses, registrations and other processes for medicines, laboratories, pharmaceuticals, food products and others came into effect.
The business sector in Guatemala is anticipating an increase in the prices of food and medicines, due to the government's decision to raise the cost of procedures such as the issuance of licenses and health registrations, required to market these products.
By means of Government Agreement 179-2020, which entered into force on December 1, 2020, new fees were imposed for the services of procedures for licenses, registrations and other processes for medicines, laboratories, pharmaceuticals, food products and others.
Although dealing with a demanding and challenging market with several competitors, companies dedicated to the transportation of people and delivery still visualize multiple opportunities in Costa Rica.
The need to access more efficient mobility, changes in consumption patterns and the upward trend in the introduction of smartphones and the Internet, have created a business scenario in which the demand for mobile platform services dedicated to the transportation of people and home delivery, increases over the years.
Because of the economic crisis, Foreign Direct Investment flows have practically vanished, and in order to attract the few investments that are projected for next year, countries are expected to compete by offering incentives and aid programs for businesses.
The covid-19 outbreak dissipated the investment intentions of companies globally.
In order to ensure the supply of drinking water supply to half of the Panamanian population for the next 50 years, achieve water sustainability in its operations and guarantee its competitiveness, the Panama Canal will invest $2 billion.
Due to weak competition in the local market, the prices of goods and services in the basic basket are significantly higher in Costa Rica than in nearby countries.
A report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), called the "Economic Study on Costa Rica", concludes that consumers in the country pay higher prices for milk, rice, vehicles and Internet services.
Through the creation of four new state-owned companies, President Ortega seeks to control the exploration and exploitation of oil in Nicaragua, as well as the import, storage, distribution and marketing of gas and fuels.
With the approval of the law initiatives, the government seeks to transfer the control that Alba de Nicaragua S.A. used to have in this market. (Albanisa), which was sanctioned by the U.S. because of its links with Petróleos de Venezuela, and Distribuidora Nicaragüense de Petróleo (DNP), which was also sanctioned by the same country, in this case for benefiting the Ortega family with non-competitive contracts.
Investment in more sophisticated equipment, preparing human capital for knowledge generation and coordinated decision making between government and business, are some of the areas that Panama has to work on in order to continue competing globally.
The country depends largely on the economic activities of the logistics sector, as it contributes about 33% of the Gross Domestic Product. However, the intense competition at a global level has forced Panama to face multiple challenges.
Taking measures to reactivate the productive sectors, make better use of public-private partnerships and boost tourism is part of what the private sector expects from the Panamanian government in the coming year.
Six months before the Cortizo administration takes office, Panama's business sector is asking it to make the decisions the economy needs to be able to continue on the path of development, and above all, not to lose competitiveness both domestically and in relation to its peers in the region, and to be able to continue to attract foreign investment.
The latest PISA assessment confirms that Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic, the only countries in the region to appear in its ranking, are far from the average results obtained by the OECD group of nations.
Although in the last ten years the average expenditure per primary and secondary student increased by about 15% in OECD countries, most of their states do not report significant progress in education.
Costa Rican businessmen warn that the government's decision to standardize wages in 2020 will lead to more unemployment, affect workers with less education and reduce competitiveness even further.
For the business sector is imprudent to approve and implement the wage standardization in 2020, since it will have a strong impact on productive sectors such as agriculture, trade, transport, tourism and construction, explains a statement from the UCCAEP.
The high energy tariffs paid in Costa Rica compared to other countries in the region and the effects of the monopoly that exists in electricity generation are threats to the local economy and future investments.
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