Iván Acosta, the Finance Minister (El ministro de Hacienda) has announced that Nicaragua will Increase Asian Exports as part of the country’s policy of export diversification.
During a Channel Six interview on national TV, Acosta highlighted the existing trade Nicaragua has with South Korea and Taiwan and used them as examples of how Nicaragua can expand and diversify their trade by exporting more national products. Acosta also stated that they were making a push to enter the mainland China markets.
“Taiwan and South Korea already mark a significant percentage of exports with which we have trade agreements, they are countries with a lot of purchasing power and we are trying to enter mainland China. What we have to do is raise the standard of our products”, explained Acosta.
In 2020, Nicaragua exported a record breaking US $9 Million of Café Oro to Taiwan. This was an increase of 48% compared to the same period in 2019.
Acosta referred to the Trade Association Agreements Nicaragua has with European community as well as the United Kingdom (now trading independently) and how Nicaragua companies need to meet the high standards required by these types of agreements.
Acosta acknowledged that “For Nicaragua to Increase Asian Exports it has to raise the standard of its products and also acknowledged the challenges in producing more, such as; financing, production capacity and storing larger inventories.
However, Acosta also noted that the track record is there as he quoted that “Nicaragua has tripled its export capacity, 2006 to date”, and now intends to strengthen sales of existing export products like; cocoa, Robusta coffee, African palm as well as livestock derivatives, etc.
The Association of Producers and Exporters of Nicaragua (APEN) shows that sugar and coffee are the main products that are marketed to countries such as China-Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea. They believe that with improvements in the supply chain, other products such as; rum, meats, cigars and seafood can also enter these export markets but would require a higher level of sophistication.
The minister said that Nicaragua is prepared to enter into Free Trade Agreements (FTA) in order to reach its export potential with Asia.
The USA remains as Nicaragua’s number one trading partner followed by its neighbor’s in Central America, then Mexico and Canada.
First quarter 2021 exports reached US $928.53 million (with a volume of 703.8 million kilograms). The same period in 2020 was US $827.44 million (volume was 759.37 kilograms) and the government has its eyes on three billion for the 2021 year end.
With expansion into Asia, the goal of the government is to reach US $4 Billion in export products.
