Guatemala ’s Department of Agriculture sector has been one of the most springy sector in the country , despite the substantial damaging economic impact and costly changes that the COVID-19 pandemic fetch on to it . As agriculture products are lively to keep a respectable torso with a strong immune system , the full value chain had to adapt to unlike extra biosafety measures as well as new logistics regulations to carry on supplying dissimilar external markets , mainly the United States , Guatemala ’s main trading partner . As much as 80 % of the total TEUs export to the United States belong to agriculture products ( including coffee , banana , lettuce , flowers , fruits , and vegetables ) . Most of these products are ship on temperature - assure containers .
Current condition have not been gentle for agriculture companies in Guatemala . On the one handwriting , according to statistics , international demand for fruits , vegetables and roasted java has increased , principally among US consumer . A late market study on consumer thought from the Produce Marketing Association ( PMA ) point out that consumption of yield and vegetables as of June 2020 increase 11 % compared with March of this year , when the COVID-19 pandemic started .
However , while requirement for agriculture products has increase , Guatemalan companies of pea and vegetable ( which account for no less than 60,000 producers across the country in addition to thousands of collateral labor ) have only been able to go at half their capacitance , significantly increasing all their costs , including production costs . These company were front with many challenge which forced them to desert fields , harvest much less product already ready for the picking , face shortage of labor for the billet harvest time treatment and shipping of their products already paid by international guest , and lastly the marketing of their products already at lower price compared with prices prior to the start of the pandemic .
A similar situation for example is being get by the more than 10,000 producers of flowers and decorative flora , 70 % of them being charwoman . Exports of ornamental plant have been on cargo area almost altogether as their demand has deteriorate significantly and one of the most important days in the year for this industry , Mother ’s Day , virtually did not take place in 2020 as economies all over the world were on lockdown by that time to prevent the spread of COVID-19 . And similar case are feel in the majority of husbandry products produced and export by Guatemala .
Rural farming workers in Guatemala are really sense the economical impact of the very in high spirits nautical and atmosphere load shipping rate , just when the thriftiness is trying to recuperate from Covid19 . " We understand that all industries took a hit with the pandemic , which is why we are calling on marine shipping lines , specially Seaboard and Crowley , and on airlines , particularly cargo airlines , to initiate talks with Guatemalan USDA industries to find the best way to endure the rural competitiveness of Guatemala and be able to keep suppling the US market with top - quality farming product like mango tree , pineapples , berries , lime , roast coffees and vegetables in terms of sapidity , colour and size of it " said Mr. Andrés Bickford , Manager of AGEXPORT ’s Agriculture Sector .
For the past three days , exports to the United States ( measured in TEUs ) have kept a firm development rate of 5 % , reach 327,358 TEUs in 2019 . During the first semester of 2020 , US ports principally received perishable products from Guatemala , being the vertex time of year for most fruit and veggie . Among other products , Guatemala also shipped garment , solid food , and other manufacturing ware .
" We distinguish that the client experience , service , and expertise on handling impudent vegetables that maritime shipping lines provide give us the corporate trust to persist in using their containers for our daily operation . We require to negociate with them a much better container rate , door - to - doorway , from the promotion plants in Guatemala to our client ’ distribution centre in the United States , and for all agriculture products . A better shipping rate would have a strong economical impingement on the entire value chain , especially on the income of the modest producers and on the competitiveness of their product . In increase , it is a winnings - win situation as well for the shipping lines , as they guarantee themselves consistent volume from long - go client of fresh and quick-frozen factory farm mathematical product while also cooperating to stop migration influx from Guatemalan rural areas to the United States , which is the first matter that materialise when formal jobs are lost in our area " said Mr. Bickford .
For more entropy : Marlene MartínezEmail:[email protect ]
