As the pandemic has changed the ways of accomplishing tasks and telecommuting has gained ground in all markets, flexibility in terms of where and when to work will be one of the factors most valued by employees in this new reality.
The threats caused by the spread of Covid-19, caused companies globally to look for new ways of working. Most teams chose to readjust their dynamics and focused on promoting remote work.
Last year in Costa Rica, the office market vacancy rate doubled from 7.45% in the first quarter of 2020 to 15.15% in the same period of 2021, a rise that was largely induced by the implementation of telecommuting.
In this context of health crisis that was triggered by the spread of Covid-19 several companies changed their work dynamics, with migration to telecommuting being one of the most important changes.
For Fitch, the delay in vaccination campaigns constitutes a latent risk of a prolonged pandemic, which would delay the recovery of the region's economies and would cause negative pressures on the risk ratings to be issued in the coming months.
Fitch Ratings issued a bulletin for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean on May 25, in which it warned that given the deep economic contractions in the region and the moderate recovery outlook, there are threats of negative rating pressures.
As a result of the shortage of tires and the increase in the cost of maritime freight, Costa Rican importers of Chinese tires estimate that prices in the local market have increased about 40% in recent months.
Representatives of Tire Kingdom, a company that imports tires manufactured in China in Costa Rica, foresee that due to the increase in prices, the main advantages of these tires could be reduced or disappear.
As a result of the reduction of the permitted capacity for meetings and events to be held in Costa Rica, businessmen of the sector will have to adjust their expenses and contain costs in a better way.
Costa Rican authorities informed that in order to contain the advance of the pandemic, during the rest of the month of May there will be a reduction in the permitted capacity for meetings and events.
In order to contain the advance of the pandemic, during the rest of the month of May, capacity reductions and restrictions to the circulation of vehicles will be applied, measures that will be applied throughout the national territory.
Through a press conference, the Costa Rican Government announced that as of May 13, sanitary measures will be applied, which will be based on the modification of some existing ones.
After foreign exchange revenues from tourism in Costa Rica fell from $4 billion to $1.343 billion between 2019 and 2020 due to the closure of borders and airports, it is projected that the sector will remain in the red during 2021.
March 2020, when most countries began to register Covid-19 cases, was the month in which revenues began to fall. Statistics from the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) show that in this context of pandemic, between April and October of last year, the Costa Rican tourism industry practically did not earn any foreign currency.
In order to mitigate the effects of the pandemic, local authorities decided that from Monday, May 3 through Sunday, May 9, all commercial establishments operating in the cantons of the Central Region and which are not classified as essential, must close to the public.
These establishments will be able to operate under the non-face-to-face modality by means of home delivery or self-service.
In the first week of April 2021, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Guatemala were the countries in the region where the number of people visiting establishments identified as supermarkets was higher than the figures reported before the pandemic.
Over the course of the months and in the context of the reactivation of commercial activities, more Central American consumers have visited locations identified as supermarkets and pharmacies.
Reducing costs and barriers to foreign trade in Central American economies is key for the region to overcome the economic recession caused by the outbreak of Covid-19.
A report prepared by the World Bank explains that boosting economic activity and employing a higher percentage of the labor force are objectives that can be achieved through reforms that strengthen the private sector and attract investment.
In order to reduce the effects of the pandemic that caused the outbreak of Covid-19, from April 27 to May 16, there will be restrictions on vehicle traffic from 9:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. the following day.
Given the speed of the increase in the number of infections and hospital occupancy, some of the most severe epidemiological data since the beginning of the pandemic, the health authorities made the decision to change the restriction schedule, according to an official statement.
As a result of the pandemic, the consumer habits of Costa Ricans changed, a phenomenon that was evidenced in the forms of consumption of ice cream, which is now more frequently consumed in homes.
In the new commercial reality, the consumption of individual ice creams was considerably reduced and in the case of multipacks, sales increased. This change is due to the fact that nowadays people spend more time in their homes and prefer to consume this type of products at home.
During February 2021, economic activity fell 4.7% in year-on-year terms, a drop that evidences that the economic crisis caused by the covid-19 outbreak continues to affect Costa Rica.
According to the Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR), as per the cycle trend series of the Monthly Index of Economic Activity (IMAE), the inter-annual variation of production reached its lowest point in June 2020, at which point it began a gradual recovery process.
Despite the complications that affected international trade due to the covid-19 outbreak, in Costa Rica in 2020, imports of grapes and oranges increased, a rise that is explained by the preference of consumers for fruits containing vitamin C.
The Foreign Trade Report of the Agricultural Sector 2019-2020, prepared by the Executive Secretariat of Agricultural Sector Planning (SEPSA), details that last year imports of fresh oranges in the country amounted to $14.8 million, 38% more than what was reported in 2019.
During 2020 in all countries of the region, construction activity decreased considerably and Central American cement imports stagnated, this adverse scenario is explained by the economic crisis generated by the pandemic.
The construction industry statistics system, which is part of the interactive platform "Construction in Central America" of CentralAmericaData's Business Intelligence area, compiles the most important industry data for each of the countries in the region.
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