Some of the effects of the health emergency and the restrictions decreed by the government on the real estate sector in Guatemala are the cancellation of appointments with clients and the suspension of projects and contracts.
In the case of residential construction, businessmen anticipate that a considerable drop could be reported later, since the drop in remittances combined with the increase in unemployment, will affect the willingness to build or buy a house.
Implementing a rescue plan in which SAT makes tax collections more flexible and IGSS assists employees is part of the proposal of Guatemalan businessmen in the commercial and service sector, given the crisis that has been generated by the health emergency.
In the first quarter of 2018, the manufacturing and services sectors recorded falls of 4,000 and 7,000, respectively, in the monthly average number of affiliates to the social insurance scheme compared to 2017.
One example of the contraction observed in industrial activity is what occured in free zones.The Association of Private Free Zones of Guatemala explained that due to the closure of more than one hundred companies, some 1,500 jobs have been lost.
While the movement of cargo imports and exports grows, the port of Quetzal has kept the same amount of docking areas as it had 30 years ago.
Businesses are complaining about saturation at the docks at Puerto Quetzal, which has reached 72%.
An article on Elsalvador.com reports that "... Cargo movement of imports and exports increased and national ports are very saturated, said Maria Lucia Soto, executive director of the Council of International Transport Users of Guatemala (Cutrigua). "
A retailers union has submitted to the government a number of measures aimed at combating the smuggling of goods and informality in the commercial sector.
The Union of Retail Sellers, recently created by the Enterprise Chamber of Commerce and Services -Cecoms- has submitted proposals to combat the illegal entry of goods into Guatemala.
Customs fraud and smuggling goods have affected retail companies for years , for which reason, the CACIF has created the Union of Retailers, comprising of supermarkets, appliance stores, importers of beverages and liquor, sellers of tobacco, electronic appliances and computers.
With the decreed intervention the time it takes to pass through customs has doubled and even tripled in some cases.
Elperiodico.com.gt reports: "The militarization in customs offices and the lack of staff in the Tax Authority (SAT) are delaying the passage of trucks by between three and ten days."
Added to this are technical and administrative deficiencies in the Directorate General of Customs at the Ministry of Finance of El Salvador for passage through Cuidad Pedro de Alvarado and San Cristobal.
The announced opening of a sales office in China is being urged by the business sector, which believes that the current policy to the second largest economy in the world is unsustainable.
Carlos Gonzalez, an analyst at the Association for Research and Social Studies (ASIES) believes that there is a delay on the part of Guatemala in trade between the two nations, because China has invaded the national market and it is necessary to have a presence in that large country.
From January to August 2009, sales of goods dropped 5.8% when compared to the same period of 2008.
Data from the Tax Authority (SAT) shows that with the exception of January and April, monthly data has been always negative.
"Sales of services show a similar trend, albeit less steep...", reported Elperiodico.com.gt. "The Central Bank of Guatemala forecasts a drop of 1.5% in commerce, but this is considered too optimistic by businessmen".
Between January and February 2009, 785 companies were registered, 202 fewer than during the same period in 2008.
Statistics from the Mercantile Registry published in elPeriódico of Guatemala showed that when the first two months of 2009 are compared with the same period in 2008, company registration fell by 20.4%, commercial companies by 16.6% and individual merchants by 20.5%.
Guatemalan purchases in China fell -24.9%, meanwhile sales decreased -54.9%, when comparing August 2007 to that of 2008.
The international financial crisis has already begun to affect the country's economy. Data from the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat) show that imports as well as exports have fallen in the first 8 months of this year.
Comparing figures from January to August of 2006 with 2007, the purchase of Chinese products by Guatemalan businesses grew 44.2%, going from $350.1 million to %4504.8 million. In 2008 the figure had been reduced to $379.3 million, that is, there as a drop of -24.9%. Similarly, in 207 Guatemalan sales to the Asian giant for the same time period, went up
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