Allister Glean, IICA

1
Central America Market EntryRequirements
Current and Emerging Regulations

• Allister Glean, IICA
• IICA-CABA-NAMDEVCO Seminar
• Food and Beverage Producers, Expand your
  Possibilities
• 27 October, 2004
• Trinidad

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Entry Requirements

• A. Pre-shipment Inspections
• Pre-shipment inspections are not required for
  merchandise exports to any of the Central
  American countries

3
Entry Requirements

• B. Licenses and Permits
• Import Licenses Licenses are required for
  domestically sensitive products (such as certain
  poultry products, rice, wheat flour and pasta),
  consumer goods and luxury items (such as
  alcoholic beverages).
• Sanitary and phytosanitary permits from the
  relevant local ministries are required for
  importation of certain products such as food
  products, fresh produce and livestock.

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Entry Requirements

• C. Labeling and Marking Requirements
• Generally, the same labeling and marking
  requirements demanded by the US will meet Central
  American requirements. However, food items and
  other items for human consumption must be labeled
  in Spanish.

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Entry Requirements

• D. Customs
• Customs procedures are involved, bureaucratic
  and at times appear unclear. However,
  reformation has been taking place. Costa Rica
  has implemented an electronic documentation
  process.

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Entry Requirements

• D. Customs (contd)
• In Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama, warehouses
  are linked electronically to customs to
  facilitate speedy release of goods. In El
  Salvador, an electronic dispatch system links the
  importer to the Customs to present and process
  documents from the firms location.

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Entry Requirements

• E. The Use of Customs Brokers
• In Central America customs brokers are
  mandatory, except for low value shipments.

In El Salvador, the importer may carry out the
customs entry procedures
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Entry Requirements

• Central American Customs on the Internet (In
  Spanish)
• Costa Rica http//www.sat.gob.gt/
• Guatemala http//www.sat.gob.gt/
• Nicaragua http//www.dga.gob.ni
• Panama http//www.aduanas.gob.pa

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Entry Requirements

• To locate Harmonized Schedule numbers, visit
• http//www.census.gov/foreign-trade/schedules/b/in
  dex.htmlsearch

To locate Tariff Rates, Taxes and other Fees for
importing into Central America http//www.trade.g
ov/td/tic/ (Follow links on website to online
tariff resources)
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Success Factors

• Affluence in much of Central America is
  concentrated in the small middle and upper income
  classes. Price is an important factor and
  products must be competitively priced.
• Exporters must supply products that compare
  favourably in diversity, quality and price with
  similar products from competitor countries.

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Success Factors

• Personal contact Obtain a local representative
  such as a distributor
• Product promotion, information and sampling are
  essential. Consumers tend to purchase products
  with which they are familiar.
• The ability to supply goods in a timely,
  efficient manner

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Opportunities
Some Opportunities in the Central American Market
Include the Following

• Milk and milk products
• Ice cream- Honduras and Nicaragua
• Turkey and chicken franks- El Salvador
• Sausages of poultry and pork- Nicaragua and
  Guatemala
• Red meat sausages- Honduras

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Opportunities

• Deli meats-Guatemala and Honduras
• Deli meats of bovine animals- Nicaragua
• Confectionery
• Pasta
• Breakfast cereals- Costa Rica, El Salvador,
  Nicaragua
• Cookies and Sweet Biscuits- Costa Rica, Honduras
  and Guatemala.

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Opportunities

• Jellies-Guatemala and Costa Rica
• Ketchup- Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua
• Soups- Costa Rica
• Beer- Costa Rica and Honduras
• Wine- Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras