Browse Data and Analysis

There were no significant changes to the Nicaraguan biotechnology regulatory regime in 2023. Nicaraguan biotechnology legislation lacks implementing regulations that would open additional opportunities for farmers and food processors to integrate new technologies into their operations.

This report provides information on export certification requirements for U.S. food and agricultural exports to Nicaragua. There were no significant changes to required export certificates since the 2022 report. This report supplements the 2023 Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards (FAIRS) Country Report.

This report describes Nicaraguan regulatory requirements and import procedures for food and agricultural products. As of June 2023, there had been no major changes since the 2022 report.

FAS/Managua projects Nicaraguan Arabica coffee production to remain mostly flat in marketing year 2023/24 at 2.46 million 60-kilogram bags, reflecting successive years of sub-optimal fertilizer application dating back to 2020 when fertilizer prices rose amid global supply chain disruptions and new taxes on agricultural inputs.

FAS/Managua projects Nicaraguan sugar production and exports recovering in marketing year 2023/24, despite deteriorating political and economic conditions in Nicaragua, with the anticipated arrival of an El Niño weather system and drier weather in the latter half of 2023.

FAS/Managua projects marketing year 2023/24 Nicaraguan peanut production to return to historic high levels, near 200,000 metric tons on an in-shell basis, as deteriorating political conditions and rising economic instability improve the risk-reward calculations of peanuts relative to longer-term investments in sugar or cattle.

The Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR)[1] region and Panama combine to represent the seventh-largest market for U.S consumer-oriented products, totaling $3.7 billion in 2022.

U.S. food and agricultural exports though the first nine months of 2022 were nearly $500 million – outpacing record highs in 2021 by 30 percent – on higher commodity prices and sustained demand for U.S. feed grains.