|
The agribusiness sector is one of the sectors with the greatest development and competitive feasibility for Guatemala, at world level, with a range of related industries that contribute to the productivity of different industry branches. For this reason, joint actions between the Government and the private sector, have developed and executed long-term strategies that enable the strengthening and development of the sector and its clusters, which in turn provides stability to agro industrial investments.
Guatemala offers great comparative and competitive advantages in this sector, such as:
- Proximity and quick access to markets in North America (The United States and Canada, with 325 million inhabitants), Mexico (100 million inhabitants) and is the point of entry to the Central American market (37 million inhabitants).
- Guatemala’s biodiversity plus more than 350 micro-climates promote agroindustry. These micro-climates provide variety, quality and availability of raw materials all year round.
- Abundant skilled labor with agricultural vocation
- Loading ports in the Pacific y Atlantic Oceans.
- Quality-price relationship.
- Food security. Guatemala has developed plans which are considered as good examples at the world level.
- Guatemalan companies utilize state of the art technology, and some of them offer the best world standards such as Fresh Harvest and Planesa, S.A.
Principal Areas of the Agro Industrial Sector:
- Candy
- Juices and beverages
- Sweet breads
- Preserves (fruits and vegetables
- Conservas (frutas y vegetales)
- Secondary forestry industry
Competitive Costs
Guatemala is the fifth largest sugar exporter at world level and the 2nd largest in Latin America, offering the most competitive sugar prices in the Meso American region. According to data provided by the Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL), In Guatemala the sugar sector has the highest performance rate in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Meso-American Market
|
|
Guatemala’s climate and climatic conditions, skilled labor and geographical position makes it the main Central American destination for investment in agribusiness. Its geographical proximity to the US, Mexico and South America makes Guatemala a natural platform for the production and export of agro industrial products, providing customs tariffs that are as low as 0%.
Additionally Guatemala strategic location is a door to thef Meso-American market composed by f 67.4 million inhabitants and a economy of US$ 154 billions.
Guatemala is presently the only country of the DR-CAFTA with seaport infrastructure on both the Pacific and the Atlantic coasts. Its international airports also ensure and facilitate the marketing of perishable products. |
“We came to Guatemala because it is the largest market in the region, with 13 million consumers. Guatemala is very accessible to the rest of the markets. In addition it shows stable exchange rates and inflation… there is a clear industrial opportunity in the region, which is a good signal. It was decided to establish the factory in Guatemala, to supply the rest of the Central American Countries…”,
Marcelo Pera, Director de Ventas, AmBev-Cervecería Río
Micro-climates variety
As opposed to the rest of Central America, in which a dry tropical climate prevails, Guatemala’s favorable agroecological conditions provide an enormous advantage. Since it is located within the tropical area of the Northern hemisphere, the country has a broad variety of altitudes --from sea level to a height of nearly 4,200 meters. Presently, Guatemala has over 360 microclimates, enabling the country to provide a variety, quality and abundance of raw materials all year round. This makes Guatemala an attractive spot for research, development and investment in agro industrial products.
“Decidimos invertir aquí, debido a la disposición de materias primas e infraestructura, por ser la economía más grande de la región, por su seguridad jurídica y laboral y por su gente.
La estabilidad macroeconómica se mantiene y recordó que el inversionista busca equidad, oportunidades de competir, generar empleo y obtener beneficio de la inversión. Guatemala ofrece esos elementos”
Roberto Servitje, Presidente y Fundador Grupo BIMBO
These and other previously described qualities allow enable Guatemala to currently boast prestigious companies dealing in the production and marketing of products, such as the following:
|
|
