Guatemala-Panama trade deficit decreases

2011-10-04

According to Bank of Guatemala, which is the country’s central bank, the Guatemala-Panama trade deficit decreased from US$ 302.9 million in 2006 to US$ 218.4 million in 2010. Such a decrease is because, in the first year, Guatemala’s exports and imports to Panama were US$ 98.3 million and US$ 401.2 million, respectively. In 2010, those figures increased respectively to US$ 222 million and US$ 440.4 million. As a matter of fact, the 2004-2010 data indicates that Guatemala enjoyed a stable growth in export (ranging from 14.2% to 35.1%) despite the fluctuating import volume. Luis Velasquez, head of Ministerio de Economía de Guatemala (MINECO), attributed the increased Guatemala exports to Panama in part to the Guatemala-Panama Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that already went into effect. Guatemala’s all-out effort in seeking ways to boost sales of new product in new markets is also a reason why the country’s 2010 exports to Central America rose by 27%.