During 2020, companies in the region bought corn abroad for $998 million, 5% more than what was reported in 2019, a variation that is explained by the increase in imports from Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and Costa Rica.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graph"]
In order to supply the deficiency of the local market, the Ministry of Economy authorized the import of 75 thousand metric tons of white corn, which will be subject to a zero tariff.
The May 21 edition of the Diario de Centroamerica published Ministerial Agreement 232-2021, by means of which the Ministry of Economy authorizes the import of white corn, tariff code 1005.90.30.00.
From January to September 2020, companies in the region bought corn abroad for $753 million, 10% more than what was reported in the same period of 2019, a variation that is explained by the rise in imports from Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graph"]
The increase in the international prices of corn and soybeans, inputs used to produce animal feed, threatens to put upward pressure on the production costs of meat, eggs and dairy products.
In recent months, the international price of a bushel (27 kilos) of soybeans increased by 28%, from $10.6 to $13.62, between November 1, 2020 and January 28, 2021.
Due to the high geographic concentration of global production, Central America has increased its imports, but at the same time has become more vulnerable to crop losses, rising international prices and possible disruptions in supply chains.
The importance of the market for this type of food is that rice, wheat, corn, beans and soybeans are basic foods on which the world's population largely depends, since it is estimated that almost half of the calories consumed by people come from these foods.
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.
From January to June 2020, the region's companies bought corn abroad for $525 million, 20% more than reported for the same period in 2019, a variation that is explained by the increase in imports from all Central American markets.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graph"]
Although the volume of corn, beans, and rice harvested is projected to increase in El Salvador by 2020, producers' expectations are not encouraging, since prices have fallen to levels insufficient to cover costs due to the import of basic grains.
Forecasts by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) indicate that this year the country's corn harvest will grow by 11%, beans by 30% and rice by 20%.
From January to September 2019, companies in the region bought corn abroad for $685 million, 12% more than reported for the same period in 2018, a rise that is explained by the behavior of imports in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphics"]
The government will give producers, associations or cooperatives of corn and sorghum, $3 for every quintal harvested during the 2019-2020 agricultural cycle.
To apply for the subsidy that was made official through resolution No.OAL-047-ADM 2020 published in the March 3 edition of the Official Journal, producers must comply with several requirements.
For the 2018-2019 agricultural cycle, the cultivated area in the country was 925,101 hectares, 14% less than the 1.07 million reported for the 2017-2018 cycle.
Data from the National Agricultural Survey (ENA), prepared by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), show that in the last agricultural cycle about 149,000 hectares were not cultivated with corn.
The National Assembly of Panama approved funds to pay during the second half of the year, incentives to producers of rice, corn and milk grade C.
The Budget Commission of the National Assembly approved in favor of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) $17,371,543, to pay incentives to producers, needs an official report.
In El Salvador, it is projected that in the current agricultural cycle, the corn and bean harvests will fall by 5% and 8%, respectively, compared to what was predicted at the time of planting.
The forecasts of the Chamber of Small and Medium Agricultural Producers (CAMPO) and the National Association of Rural Producers of El Salvador (ANPRES), specify that in the case of corn there are about 20,000 manzanas of crop damaged, which would imply a loss of investment of approximately $19 million.
In El Salvador, the supply and distribution of sugar, rice, beans and corn flour for the centers of the Salvadoran Institute for the Integral Development of Children and Adolescents for the year 2020 are tendered.
El Salvador Government Purchase LP-04/2020-ISNA:
"The products offered must be delivered in the main and secondary packaging designed by the manufacturer, which must not suffer alterations or amendments and must also guarantee the total delivery of goods in optimum conditions, such as to preserve their quality, hygiene and health, during transportation, handling and storage, without deterioration of their useful life, as well as specify in the vignette the date of preparation or packaging, expiration date and Sanitary Registration No., regardless of the quantity to be served.
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