Because several construction projects were stopped due to the pandemic, residential remodeling work became an important source of income for hardware stores competing in the Costa Rican market.
The spread of covid-19 forced the Costa Rican authorities to impose restrictions on productive activities, one of which was construction, a sector that paralyzed several investments being made in 2020.
El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua were the Central American markets that increased their hydraulic cement imports in the first half of 2020 in year-on-year terms.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graphic"]
During the first quarter of 2020, Central American companies imported hydraulic cement for $48 million, and purchases from Turkey increased 154% compared to the same period in 2019.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graph"]
In Costa Rica, the price indexes of buildings and social housing registered in the seventh month of the year, year-on-year variations of -1.07% and -0.81%, respectively.
From the report of the National Institute of Statistics and Census:
The Novex chain of hardware stores opened its first branch in the country, which has an area of 3,000 square meters and is located in Curridabat, east of San José.
The new store that belongs to it is specifically located 250 meters east of the bomb La Galera, on the old road to Tres Rios, and has 20 departments that include construction materials, household items, pets, gardening, vehicles, painting, among others.
The potential business of these establishments can be assessed by estimating the number of people living in the surrounding area, their socio-demographic characteristics, their consumption capacity and the type of products they are interested in.
Measuring the potential of micro markets, based on the evaluation of a business environment and its comparison with similar sales points, is essential for designing appropriate commercial strategies or deciding where to open a new store.
As part of the process of reactivating productive activities after overcoming the most critical phases of quarantine, the Ministry of Health ordered the reopening of the hardware stores in their regular hours and with attention to the public.
Resolution 453 of the Ministry of Health was published in the Official Digital Journal on May 29, 2020, and authorizes the opening of hardware stores to the public.
Hardware store sales in Central America are projected to register a considerable drop, which would be mainly due to the expected decline in retail sales of paints.
The "Information System for the Impact Analysis of covid-19 on Business", prepared by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, measures the impact that the crisis will have on companies according to their sector or economic activity, considering different scenarios for the coming months.
In Guatemala, between January and February of this year, the price of 22-gauge steel sheet fell 2%, and the price of rustic pine formwork wood increased 2%.
The Price Index of Construction Materials -IPMC-, prepared by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), measures the price variations of the eighty-nine (89) materials and services that make up the representative basket of inputs used in the construction activity, using December 2018=100 as the base month.
The impact of the covid19 crisis on the construction sector in Central America is expected to be explained, to a greater extent, by the expected fall in the business of prefabricated steel structures.
During the second month of the year in the country, the price of the sand yard grew 4% compared to the same month in 2018, and the No. 4 stroller foot fell by 12%.
From the General Comptroller of the Republic's report:
In Costa Rica, the price indexes of buildings and social housing registered in the second month of the year, year-on-year variations of -0.90% and -0.89%, respectively.
From the report of the National Institute of Statistics and Census:
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