As a result of the blockade that has been in place since July 2020 on the entry of animal products from Costa Rica into the Panamanian market, Costa Rican exports to Panama are reported to have fallen and companies such as Dos Pinos are reporting losses in the millions.
The trade conflict began when Panama informed the National Animal Health Service (SENASA), an agency of Costa Rica's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), of the decision not to extend export authorization to a list of previously authorized Costa Rican establishments that have been trading in the Panamanian market for many years.
The analysis of data and large volumes of images, combined with the implementation of innovative methodologies, allows companies to size up how many of their products could be marketed in outlets classified as informal.
More and more companies need to identify and estimate, with precision, what portion of their market they may not be serving. At the same time, they need to gauge the likelihood that their products are being sold in places that are classified as informal. In many cases, the actual size of the parallel market that these types of establishments make up is not always on the radar of manufacturing and distribution companies.
As a result of the restrictions imposed by the Guatemalan Government, local businessmen estimate that sales in the commercial sector last weekend fell by up to 50% and the number of customers in restaurants and shopping centers decreased considerably.
In order to promote actions aimed at interrupting the epidemiological chain of the Covid-19 disease, Ministerial Agreement 87-2021 was published on April 17 in the Diario de Centroamerica, a regulatory framework that requires a 25% reduction in the capacity of shopping malls, commercial centers, convenience stores and restaurants.
Following the announcement of the restrictions imposed in Guatemala to mitigate the outbreak of covid-19, which contemplate the closing of restaurants after 9:00 pm, businessmen anticipate that sales will fall and that they will have to reduce the number of personnel hired.
Due to the impact of the tropical storms Iota and Eta, businessmen of the sector estimate that for the 2020-2021 harvest about 13% of the sugar cane production will be lost.
According to a report by the Association of Sugar Producers of Honduras (Amah), the rains caused by tropical storm Eta damaged approximately 23,874 hectares of cane, and in the case of Iota, approximately 19,414 hectares were affected.
After the UCCAEP in Costa Rica began to negotiate the lifting of the blockades with the self-proclaimed group Rescate Nacional, promoter of the protests, several business chambers distanced themselves from that decision and others have expressed their support.
Given the wave of protests and blockades that have been reported in the country, which arose after it was reported that to access a loan from the International Monetary Fund for $1.75 billion, the government planned to tax financial transactions, raise the tax on the profits of companies and persons, and increase the tax on real estate. The Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector (UCCAEP) decided to negotiate the lifting of the blockades.
Faced with increasing chaos in Costa Rica due to demonstrations and blockades, a part of the business sector decided, unilaterally, to negotiate with representatives of the movement that incites to protest, and to reject the official call by the President of the Republic.
In Costa Rica, the new commercial reality requires restaurants to operate with a capacity of 50%; however, since they maintain the same level of fixed costs, the losses of this sector could exceed 20%.
For more than four months, when the first cases of covid-19 were reported in the country, consumers have been subjected to severe restrictions on mobility and restaurants were forced to operate in conditions unfavorable to their finances.
Some of the most notable effects caused by the spread of covid-19 is the cancellation of at least 8,000 hotel nights in Costa Rica, and the interruption by Iberia of its flights from Madrid to Guatemala and San Salvador.
Businessmen in the region agree that due to the virus that has been spreading from China, supply chains have been interrupted, which is combined with a drop in the transit of people, causing losses to the tourism sector.
In Costa Rica, the authorities reported that following the outbreak of covid-19 in the country, the measure prohibiting any activity of massive concentration of people remains in force and that companies organizing public shows have the obligation to return the money to consumers.
The ticketing companies or platforms for selling tickets must provide the entities that act as acquirers in transactions or purchases made by credit or debit cards, all the information required for the effective identification of the transactions corresponding to the cancelled event, immediately, explains an official statement.
A drop in the flow of tourists to the region, cancellation of reservations and the suspension of flights are part of the expected consequences of the spread of the virus worldwide.
According to the report prepared by the Central Bank of Costa Rica called "Commentary on the national economy for February 2020", derived from the outbreak of pneumonia caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus (coronavirus) is expected to report a negative impact on the influx of tourists to the country.
Because of factors such as business closures and lack of opportunities, it is estimated that criminal activity costs Honduras and El Salvador 16% of GDP, and in the case of Guatemala, its losses could amount to 7% of its production.
In Central America, the human costs of crime remain one of the highest in the world. El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—referred to as the Northern Triangle— account for about four-and-a-half percent of homicides worldwide despite only having about one-half-percent of the world's population.
Because the area of stolen land in Guatemala has grown from about 10,000 hectares in the 1990s to 164,000 in 2018, losses in agricultural production caused by this phenomenon reached nearly $650 million last year.
The Chamber of Agriculture (Camagro) estimates that only in 2018, invasions of private property, mainly agricultural production farms, generated a negative impact equivalent to 0.6% of Gross Domestic Product.
In Panama is reported a fall of between 25% and 30% in the national production of polyethylene bags in the last month and a half, because of the entry into force of the law that prohibits its use.
In the context of the protests and blockades that have been affecting Costa Rica for several days, the businessmen denounce that there are millions of losses, mainly in tourism, exports, and agricultural, industrial and commercial activities.