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 beefexports increased by 4%, going from $522 million to $542 million.
The increase in the international prices of corn and soybeans, inputs used to produce animal feed, threatens to put upward pressure on the production costs of meat, eggs and dairy products.
In recent months, the international price of a bushel (27 kilos) of soybeans increased by 28%, from $10.6 to $13.62, between November 1, 2020 and January 28, 2021.
From January to June 2020, Central American countries reported $359 million in beef sales abroad, 24% more than what was recorded in the same period of 2019.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with the graph"]
In Nicaragua, from January to July of this year, exports of livestock products totaled $449 million, 16% more than reported for the same period in 2019, mainly due to increased sales of beef.
Figures from the Export Processing Center (Cetrex) indicate that between January and July 2019 and the same period this year, foreign sales of livestock products increased from $388 million to $449 million.
In the last five years, pork consumption in Central America increased 42%, from 197,000 tons in 2014 to nearly 279,000 tons in 2019, growth that was boosted by the Salvadoran and Honduran markets.
Figures from the "Pork Market Snapshot" prepared by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, detail that in the last two years’ regional consumption of pork registered a 3% increase, since between 2018 and 2019 it is estimated that demand in Central America rose from 270 thousand metric tons to 279 thousand tons.
When the economies of Central America begin to relax the restrictions that have been taken to prevent the spread of covid-19, it is expected that in the area of processed meats, sales of pork ham will be among the most contracted.
Using a demand/income sensitivity model developed by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, it is possible to project the variations that household demand for different goods and services will undergo as the most critical phases of the spread of covid-19 are overcome and the measures restricting mobility in the countries of the region are lifted.
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.
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.
The marketing of organic shrimp, vegetable meat, Monk Fruit and carob are some of the innovative market opportunities that Guatemalan exporters have identified for this year.
For the "Best Markets, Products & Services 2020 Study", prepared by the Market Development and Trade Promotion Department of AGEXPORT, 27 high potential markets for Guatemalan products and services exports were selected, identifying 18 countries and 9 states of the United States, which together with the 351 tariff items generate more than 900 commercial opportunities for the Guatemalan exportable supply and international markets, informed the sector's union.
In Nicaragua, ranchers claim that as a result of the tax reform and the inevitable increase in production costs, they have had to increase the slaughter of female cattle by 4%, putting at risk the growth of the cattle herd.
After the approval on February 27, 2019 of the amendment to the Tax Concertation Law, which consisted of raising income tax from 1% to 2% for medium sized companies with higher income, and for large taxpayers from 1% to 3%, the livestock sector has reported considerable increases in its production costs.
From January to March 2019, the countries of the region reported $154 million in sales of beef abroad, and exports to Puerto Rico grew 12% over the same period in 2017.
Figures from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAPHIC caption="Click to interact with graphic"]
Due to the fact that preference for "vegetable" or plant-based meat is growing quickly in major global markets, food industry business groups have begun to make investments to meet this novel and growing market niche.
Foods that were once considered the exclusive consumption of vegans or vegetarians are now becoming popular, and in the case of the United States, in supermarkets it is increasingly normal to see meat products made from plants.
From January to September 2018, countries in the region reported $422 million in beef sales abroad, and exports to the United States grew 16% over the same period in 2017.
Data from the Trade Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Click to interact with graphics]
The socio-political crisis that Nicaragua has been suffering since a year ago, together with the recent tax reform, forces businessmen in the livestock sector to postpone investments in genetic improvement and technology.
Nicaragua's businessmen have been dealing hard times in the last year, because in the midst of the political and economic crisis that Nicaragua has been facing since April 2018, the National Assembly approved in early 2019 a tax reform that raises the income tax of large taxpayers from 1% to 3%.
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