In Costa Rica, since July 2020 the producer price index for the manufacturing sector started to report increases, a situation that could lead to a rise in sales prices and simultaneously to a fall in the quantity of products traded.
Between December 2019 and June 2020, the producer price index for the manufacturing sector (IPP-MAN) reported negative year-on-year variations. This phenomenon was reported in the context of the onset of the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Due to the imbalance in world trade flows, shipping lines have changed their routes and prefer to move empty containers to Asia, a situation that generates shortages and causes increases in freight rates and raw material prices.
In this scenario of new commercial reality, the operating costs of maritime freight have been impacted, since due to the restrictions imposed in several countries around the world, containers have been stranded.
"If we overcome the mental barrier of commoditization, identifying and communicating those added values going beyond our basic proposal, we will have the opportunity to take our profitability to another level."
Ariel Banos, founder of Fijaciondeprecios.com explains that when a proposal is a commodity, in other words, it lacks differentiation with respect to others offered in the market, the only alternative is to align itself with the prices charged by competitors. There are no magic solutions.
In the second month of this year, the FAO food price index rose by 8 percent compared to the same month in 2019, explained by rising prices of meat, dairy products, vegetable oils and sugar.
From FAO's monthly report:
-The FAO Food Price Index* (FFPI) averaged 180.5 points in February 2020, down 1.9 points (1.0 percent) from January but still 13.5 points (8.1 percent) higher than in February 2019. The decline marked the first month-on-month drop in the value of the FFPI following four months of successive increases. It was driven by a sharp fall in the export prices of vegetable oils and, to a lesser extent, meat and grains, more than offsetting a continued rise in dairy and sugar prices.
Business people in Central America agree that because of the virus that has been spreading from China, global supply chains have been disrupted and commodity prices have fallen.
An analysis by the Guatemalan exporters' union states that among the risks identified as a result of the outbreak of the coronavirus (a highly contagious disease that emerged in the city of Wuhan, in central China), is the possible irruption to the supply chains of Guatemalan industries, by identifying that China has become one of the 3 main countries of origin of Guatemalan imports.
Costa Rican businessmen are opposed to the bill that gives Icafé the authority to impose requirements and controls on the processes of supplying the raw material necessary for grain production.
In the current period, the Legislative Assembly plans to discuss bill 21.163, which aims to transform the powers of the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (Icafé), but the business sector anticipates that the proposed modifications will lead to a rise in the prices of the product.
In the seventh month of the year, FAO's food price index rose 2% over the same month in 2018, again explained by the increase in the prices of cereals, meat and sugar.
From FAO's monthly report:
» The FAO Food Price Index* (FFPI) averaged 170.9 points in July 2019, down 1.1 percent (1.8 points) from June but 2.3 percent higher than in July 2018. The month-on-month decline was the result of lower prices for some cereals, dairy products and sugar, which more than offset somewhat firmer prices for meat and oils.
In the sixth month of the year, the FAO food price index increased by 1% compared to the same month in 2018, explained by the increase in the prices of cereals, meat and sugar.
In the fourth month of the year, the FAO food price index fell 2% over the same month in 2018, explained by the decline in prices of meat, cereals and vegetable oils.
From FAO's monthly report:
The FAO Food Price Index* (FFPI) rose in April 2019 to around 170 points, 1.5 percent (2.5 points) higher than in March and marking its highest value since June 2018. At this level, the FFPI would still remain 2.3 percent below its level in the corresponding month last year. Except for the sub-index for cereals, all the other sub-indices firmed in April, led by dairy and meat, and to a lesser extent vegetable oils and sugar.
In the third month of the year, the FAO food price index fell 4% from March 2018, explained by the decline in the prices of meat, cereals, vegetable oils and sugar.
From FAO's monthly report:
» The FAO Food Price Index* (FFPI) held steady in March 2019, averaging 167 points and still hovering around its highest value since August 2018.
In September, the FAO food price index decreased 7% compared to the same month in 2017, because of lower prices for meat, dairy products, cereals, vegetable oils and sugar.
From FAO's monthly report:
» The FAO Food Price Index* (FFPI) averaged 163.5 points in October 2018, down 1.4 points (0.9 percent) from September and some 13 points (7.4 percent) below its level in the corresponding period last year. The October decline in the FFPI was the result of falling dairy, meat and oils prices, which more than offset a surge in sugar prices and a more moderate increase in the prices of cereals. The October FFPI is at its lowest level since last May.
In July, the FAO food price index registered the sharpest monthly decline since December 2017, due to a reduction in the prices of all the food in it.
From the monthly FAO report:
» The FAO Food Price Index* (FFPI) averaged 168.8 points in July 2018, down as much as 6.5 points (3.7 percent) from June and 10.3 points (3.7 percent) from the corresponding period last year. The July fall marked the first significant month-on-month decline in the value of the FFPI since December 2017, reflecting notable drops in the values of all sub-indices.
From January to September 2017 the region imported $543 million worth of corn, and 54% was purchased by companies in Guatemala and Costa Rica.
Figures from the information system on the the Corn Market in Central America, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption = "Click to interact with the graph"]
World food prices fell slightly in November, as the decline in prices of dairy products offset a sharp increase in the prices of sugar and vegetable oils.
From a statement by the World Food Organization (FAO):
7 December 2017, Rome - Global foodprices declined marginally in November, as lower dairy prices offset a sharp increase in sugar and vegetable oil quotations, according to the latest FAO Food Price Index issued today.
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