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Panama made a policy change regarding Genetically Engineered (GE) plants, seeds and animals in 2022, through the recently approved Legislative Act which establishes the State Agri-food Policy and dictates other provisions.

Guatemala adopted science-based regulations for the adoption of agricultural biotechnology in 2018. These regulations were immediately challenged by activists but in 2021 the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court reaffirmed the legality of the regulatory process, paving the way for the approvals of the first applications in April 2021.

This report provides U.S. food and agriculture exporters information on how to do business with the Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional (HRI) sector in Panama. This sector contributes significantly to Panama’s economy and is driven by international tourism.

In June 2022 the Government of Guatemala confirmed that poultry products exported to Guatemala no longer need the USDA export mark on every box, and instead USDA can apply the mark on every consignment, pallet, or transportation unit. This has resulted in more efficient export clearance times with reduced labor, dock space and loading time which ultimately translates into better poultry prices for consumers.

The HRI report provides U.S. agricultural exporters current information on market trends and the best product prospects for the Guatemalan market.

The Ministry of Health issued three updates this year: a) Presidential Decree 53-2022 establishes new fees for services as of March 1, 2022 b) Technical Norm 001-2022 provides regulations for food supplements, and c) Communication dated June 1, 2022 establishes guidance for sampling processed food products in Guatemala as part of the routine surveillance.

This report contains the list of all the mandatory export certificates required by the Government of Guatemala for agricultural imports. This report has no changes from its 2021 version.

In response to widespread protests and road closures, in recent days, Panama established a series of price ceilings, profit margin controls, and subsidies that affect consumers goods. These include ceiling on the gross profit margin on 11 imported...

Supermarkets, hypermarkets, and independent food stores, continue expanding in Guatemala; imports of U.S. consumer-oriented products have continued to grow and in 2021, the value of these products reported a record year of $637 million.

This report provides information to U.S. exporters of agricultural and related products on how to do business with the retail food sector in Panama. Despite the many global challenges, the retail industry is facing, including supply issues, increasing prices, consumer behavior is shaping the shopping experience.

Guatemala maintains its 305,000 Ha of coffee, but harvested area is slightly reduced due to higher production costs, both inputs and labor. Production costs raised 32 percent as fertilizer prices continue doubling and migration is negatively impacting labor availability.

Guatemala continues to be a net importer of both yellow corn and rice. Corn area and production in MY2022/2023 are forecast to shrink one percent as some commercial farmers have decided not to plant corn given record high increases of more than 100 percent in fertilizer costs (mainly urea) and a nearly 90 percent increase in oil prices.