The slowness of local authorities to grant permits to wood exporters prevents them from taking advantage of the available resources in the country.
2020 was a complicated year for the sector, as Nicaraguan exports were considerably reduced due to the pandemic. In addition to this phenomenon, exporters face complications when it comes to obtaining the corresponding permits, a situation that prevents them from doing business in emergency scenarios.
With a line of credit from CABEI, the Nicaraguan government will finance projects focused on the transformation of extensive cattle raising, agriculture and wood exploitation.
The Board of Directors approved the financing proposal for the Bio-CLIMA Project: integrated climate action to reduce deforestation and strengthen resilience in BOSAWÁS and the Rio San Juan biosphere in Nicaragua, for a total amount of $115.7 million, reported the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).
If quarantine and mobility restriction measures are extended by two months, it is expected that by the end of the year the annualized demand for industrial wood products in Central America will have fallen by 10%.
The "Information System for the Impact Analysis of Covid-19 on Business", prepared by the Trade Intelligence Area of CentralAmericaData, measures the degree of impact that the crisis will have on companies according to their sector or economic activity, considering different scenarios for the coming months.
The IDB approved a $9.2 million credit for the government to implement a forest management project that will benefit 225 forestry companies.
The funds will be used in climate change adaptation and mitigation programs, through the Sustainable Forest Management project, reported the government of Guatemala.
In the first six months of 2019, $139 million in wood and wood products were exported from Central America, and 54% of them were sold by companies in Costa Rica and Panama.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphics"]
Because wood is being demanded for different types of use, opportunities have been identified to design and manufacture several differentiated products with high marketing potential.
According to Guatemalan businessmen in the sector, wood is no longer being used only for the manufacture of furniture or decoration of residences, but is also being demanded in corporate spaces such as offices and work environments, and in places such as retail stores, restaurants, hotels and hospitals.
The government approved the implementation of a security seal to be used for transport in closed containers of wood for export from commercial plantations.
Resolution No. DM-0193-2019, published in the Gaceta Oficial at the beginning of June, establishes that the Asociación Nacional de Reforestadores y Afines de Panamá (Anarap) is authorized to supply security seals at the national level.
Through a cooperation agreement with the Mexican government, El Salvador will reforest nearly 50,000 hectares of land in different parts of the country.
The presidents of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, and of the United Mexican States, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, signed on June 20 in Tapachula, state of Chiapas, a cooperation agreement for the planting of 50,000 hectares in El Salvador, a project that will generate 20,000 jobs and is part of the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for Central America, informed the presidency of El Salvador.
In the first nine months of 2018, $206 million in wood and wood products were exported from Central America, and 52% were sold by companies in Costa Rica and Panama.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphics]
During the last year, sales abroad totaled $672 million, resulting in a rise of just 2% over 2017, mainly explained by banana and wood sales.
The most recent figures from the General Comptroller of the Republic, detail that between 2017 and 2018 exports rose from $660 million to $672 million, an increase that is explained in part by the behavior of sales of bananas, wood and scrap steel, copper and aluminum.
In the first six months of 2018, exports of timber and wood products from the region totaled $156 million, 3% more than the same period in 2017, partly because of sales to India.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
Businessmen in Nicaragua reported that from January to September sales of furniture and wood showed a decrease of 60% compared to the same period in 2017.
According to the second Monitoring of Economic Activities in Nicaragua, of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (Cosep) and the Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development (Funides), under the political and social crisis that has affected the country for more than six months, sales of the furniture sector have reported negative results.
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