Because the level of rainfall forecast for the winter is expected to favor livestock activity, entrepreneurs in the sector expect local production of meat and milk to grow during 2021.
Experts predict that this year's winter conditions will lead to an increase in green pasture for cattle. This factor will boost milk and meat production.
In order to boost local livestock activity, the Panamanian government has made a commitment to the National Association of Pork Producers to purchase 5,000 pigs, equivalent to 500 tons of pork.
It is important to highlight that the economic impact of this purchase is in the order of $1,650,000, which will be of great support on the one hand for the producers, and on the other hand for thousands of households that are served by the Panama Solidarity Plan, informed the Ministry of Agricultural Development (Mida).
In recent years, Nicaraguan beef exports have been on the rise due to the improved quality of the product, but foreign sales of live cattle have been declining due to the deterioration of trade relations with Venezuela.
Official figures specify that between 2019 and 2020 Nicaraguan beef exports increased by 4%, going from $522 million to $542 million.
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).
In Guatemala, for the months when the quarantine was most severe, sales of live cattle were cut in half due to movement restrictions, lack of transportation, and market closures.
Due to the covid-19 outbreak, authorities agreed to impose severe restrictions on the circulation of people during April, May, June, and July, including total closures of the economy during several weekends.
During the first quarter of the year in Costa Rica 99,662 cattle were slaughtered, 4% more than reported in the same period in 2019, which is largely explained by shipments to the market in China.
Although the spread of covid-19 has negatively impacted most economic sectors worldwide, data from the Livestock Corporation (Corfoga) detail that between January and March 2019 and the same period of 2020, the number of cattle slaughtered increased by 3981, from 95681 to 99662.
Between the first two months of 2019 and the same period in 2020, the number of pigs slaughtered in Panama increased by only 1%, while cattle slaughtering grew by 3%.
The General Comptroller's Office of the Republic of Panama reported that 80,841 heads of pigs were slaughtered in the first two months of the year, a figure higher than the 80,067 reported in the same period of 2019.
In the last five years, beef consumption in Central America increased 4%, from 335,000 tons in 2014 to about 347,000 tons in 2019, growth that was boosted by the Salvadoran and Honduran markets.
Figures from the "Beef Market Snapshot" prepared by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, detail that in the last two years’ regional consumption of beef registered a slight increase, since between 2018 and 2019 it is estimated that demand in Central America rose from 341 thousand metric tons to 347 thousand tons.
At the end of last year, the number of cattle in Panama reached 1.49 million, 3.8% less than in 2018.
The General Comptroller of the Republic reported that between 2018 and 2019 the number of cattle decreased by 59,700, from 1,556,900 to 1,497,200, a decrease that is largely explained by the fall recorded in the province of Veraguas.
The report states that in the province of Veraguas the herd fell by 8%, from 252,400 to 232,100.
After the first case of paralytic rabies in cattle was confirmed in Coto Brus, the authorities decided to quarantine the farm that houses 110 cattle.
Because the National Animal Health Service (Senasa) confirmed the death of a cattle that was affected by this disease, the movement of any cattle from the farm located in Puntarenas province was prohibited.
Between January 2019 and the same period in 2020, the number of pigs slaughtered in Panama increased by 4%, while cattle slaughtering grew by 2%.
According to figures from the General Comptroller's Office of the Republic of Panama, 41,226 heads of pigs were slaughtered in the first month of the year, which is higher than the 39,506 reported in the same period of 2019.
Businessmen in the sector say that for the last two years the theft of livestock and illegal slaughtering of animals has been on the rise.
Representatives of the Federation of Livestock Associations of Nicaragua (Faganic) reported that another situation that affects them is the shortage of credit for producers.
Following an outbreak of paralytic rabies in Veraguas province, local authorities reported that a cordon sanitaire was established to prevent the spread of the disease.
Representatives of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) explained that the quarantined area is equivalent to a 10-km radius from the reported outbreak in Mariato district.
Between 2018 and 2019, the number of cattle slaughtered in Panama increased 6%, while the number of pigs slaughtered decreased 9%.
According to the figures of the General Comptroller of the Republic of Panama, 341,188 heads of cattle were slaughtered last year, a figure higher than the 323,289 reported in 2018.
Between 2017 and 2018, the number of cattle rose from 1.49 million to 1.58 million, an increase of 5%.
The National Agricultural Survey (ENA) prepared by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses, specifies that of the total number of cattle counted in 2018, 61.8% corresponds to meat production, 15.8% was allocated to milk production, 22.2% dual purpose and finally, working animals represent 0.2%.
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