From May 20 to 22nd an international conference will be held in Panama on agricultural production in controlled environments, which will cover topics such as nutrient solutions and efficient use of water and energy.
This event will be held with the aim of establishing a public-private partnership to promote the development of foods in controlled environments.
The quotas for duty free export of beef, rice and tuna negotiated in the Agreement with the European Union are not being exploited to the fullest extent by local producers.
Lack of certification by the meat processing plants for export, the crisis in the agricultural sector and the absence of incentives to produce exportable foods are some of the factors which, in the opinion of producers, are preventing the country from taking advantage of the tariff benefits granted to country under the Economic Association Agreement (AA).
The entry into force of the Central American Trade Agreement with the European Union draws near and Panama has not yet formally integrated into the region.
The Treaty of the Central American-European Union Association will be stamped with the final flourish at the end of June, and the commercial part very will enter into force very soon after being signed, eliminating tariffs on 99% of bilateral trade products.
In 2010, the state granted exemptions and incentives worth $ 23.4 million to exporters, mainly through Tax Credit Certificates (CAT in Spanish).
A total of 1359 CAT were endorsed for $18.9 million, relating to exports in 2009. This mechanism was halted at the end of that year, for being incompatible with standards set by the World Trade Organization.
The director of Panama’s Multimodal Hub program announced the construction of the $30 million center.
Manuel Fernández, director of the program “Hub Multimodal de Las Américas”, added that studies are being carried out to determine the best location for the center and that work is expected to begin next year.
Parties involved in the building of the food processing center include Panamanian exporters, the North American company Meneren (responsible for the project management) and the real estate firm CB Richard Ellis.
Between July 20 and 21, the Government of Panama would deliver the first Euro Certificates to agricultural exporters.
The Euro Bonds or Euro Certificates were created seven months ago, after the country was excluded from the EU's Generalized System of Preferences (SGP-Plus). They can be used by agricultural exporters to pay taxes and to request credit at banks, among others.
Overcome weaknesses, build strengths; partnerships between companies to achieve vertical or horizontal integration is a good bet for growth.
Some of the forms of horizontal integration that business partnerships assume are to reduce costs by purchasing a pool of supplies, market exports as a whole and consolidate to lower freight charges. Vertical integration is usually more complex, requiring each of the partners to specialize in specific business sectors to achieve productive linkage. The common denominator is the desire to overcome weaknesses and generate strengths through a partnership perhaps with the company that up until yesterday was your competition.
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