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The Agricultural Sector
Arias, Diego, 2007. “Agricultural Support Policies and Programs in Central America and the Dominican Republic in Light of Trade Liberalization .” Economic and Sector Study Series, February. Inter American Development Bank. Regional Operations Department II.
Arias, Diego; Arias, Ricardo; and Gurria, Martin; 2006. "Inversión Extranjera Directa en el Sector Agropecuario de Centroamérica: El Caso de Honduras." Economic and Sector Study. Inter-American Development Bank. September. (S)
Data on Agricultural Supports according to the OECD Methodology for Central America. Data collected by Rigoberto Stewart (2004) for Costa Rica, Norberto Quesada (2005) for Dominican Republic, and Arthur D. Little (2006) for Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama.
Hathaway, Dale, 2003. “The Impacts of US Agricultural and Trade Policy and Trade Liberalization and Integration via a US-Central American Free Trade Agreement.” Special Initiative on Trade and Integration, Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean, IADB, Integration and Regional Programs Department. Working Paper – SITI – 04. (S)
Summary: Examines the effects that the U.S. Farm Bill will have on negotiations and non-tariff barriers to trade with Central America. Points out that after CAFTA has been signed displaced farm workers will need help adjusting and finding alternative sources of income, especially in rural areas with high unemployment already. Further, specific programs to compensate those during adjustment and to help with the adjustment process will be necessary. Suggests the CAFTA countries should develop an integrated agricultural market, such as in the EU, through the use of integrated agricultural policies and, particularly, through the attainment of exchange rate stability since exchange rate fluctuations can wreak havoc in agricultural trade.
Region: Costa Rica; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Mexico; Nicaragua.
Honduras Ministry of Agriculture (SAG), 2003. “Política de Estado para el Sector Agroalimentario y el Medio Rural de Honduras 2003-2021.” Tomo I & II. (S)
Summary: This publication presents the government of Honduras’ policies towards the agricultural sector and rural development for 2003-2021. The document describes the recent situation for the agricultural sector in Honduras, attributing the recent poor growth performance of the primary sector to decreasing terms of trade, an increase in international competition and the poor domestic agricultural policies. The policies presented are based on surveys of government and civil society actors conducted by the Foro Nacional de Convergencia, the purpose of the survey being the identification of a national vision for Honduras and its development. The document first presents the international context and its impact on the agricultural sector, poverty and rural areas in Honduras and then follows with proposed measures the government and private actors should take to promote agrifood and rural sector development.
Region: Honduras
Jank, Marcos Sawaya, Ian Fuchsloch and Geraldine Kutas. 2003. "Agricultural Liberalization in Multilateral and Regional Trade Negotiations." Special Initiative on Trade and Integration, Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean, IDB, Integration and Regional Programs Department. Working Paper – SITI – 03.
Summary: This paper describes and analyzes different aspects of agricultural trade liberalization, looking at the political issues of liberalization; the current structure of trade and tariff protections in the Western Hemisphere and the European Union; domestic and export agricultural subsidies in the United States and E.U.; and the group of sensitive agricultural products upon which Western Hemisphere countries rely. In the policy recommendations offered, the authors note that for Central America to obtain the highest returns from agricultural trade liberalization, the North American countries must lower their tariff barriers on agricultural goods simultaneous to a reduction in industrial tariffs by South American countries.
Region: Central America, North America, South America, E.U.
Lawrence, R. 2003. “Capitalizing on CAFTA: Enhancing El Salvador’s Integration into the Global Economy.” Prepared for FUSADES.
Summary: This paper discusses all aspects of trade that will be affected by CAFTA, looking at the composition and direction of trade from El Salvador and evaluating the trade policies of El Salvador. The author finds that export promotion has been general rather than targeted and that El Salvador has not been successful in promoting non-traditional agricultural exports or tourism. The paper finds that it is critical for the country to be able to reallocate production and adjust to the changing terms of trade, especially moving from import-competing agricultural production to export-oriented production. Non-traditional crops such as fruits, gourmet coffee, ethnic foods and horticulture are noted as possible export crops. An Agricultural Adjustment Program should be established to deal with adjustment problems/issues and find alternative incomes for agricultural producers.
Region: El Salvador.
Monge-Gonzalez, Ricardo, Miguel Loria-Sagot and Claudio Gonzalez-Vega. 2003. “Retos y Oportunidades para los Sectores Agropecuario y Agroindustrial de Centro América ante un Tratado de Libre Comercio con los Estados Unidos.” Prepared for the World Bank. June. (S)
Summary: This document identifies the produces in which each Central American country has a comparative advantage and should prioritize in their negotiations for CAFTA. The comparative advantages were determined by calculating the Revealed Comparative Advantage Index developed by Balassa (1967). The document does not predict the changes that can be expected from CAFTA, but is meant to be used as a tool in the negotiations, so to acquire better access to the United States market for Central American exports. Mexico’s experience with NAFTA is also summarized as are lessons that can be learned from NAFTA.
Region: Costa Rica; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Mexico; Nicaragua.
Monge-González, Ricardo, Claudio González-Vega and Francisco Monge-Ariño. 2002. “Efectos Potenciales de un Tratado de Libre Comercio entre USA y Centro América sobre el sector agropecuario y agroindustrial de Costa Rica y El Salvador.” Prepared for The World Bank. (S)
Summary: As part of a general analysis of the impact of CAFTA on agriculture and agro-industry in Costa Rica and El Salvador, the document uses Balassa’s Revealed Comparative Advantage Index to identify products in which these two countries have a comparative advantage, as compared to other Central American countries that might have problems accessing the United States market. The authors also present recommendations for the CAFTA negotiations to gain better access to the U.S. market and with respect to sensitive agricultural products from Central America.
Region: Costa Rica; El Salvador.
Moreno, Raul. 2003. “The Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Central America: Economic and Social Impact.” University of El Salvador, Sinti Techan Network working paper.
Summary: This paper evaluates the way in which CAFTA is being negotiated and the aspects of it that cause concern. The CAFTA negotiations are criticized for not being sufficiently open or representative, driven only by the interests of powerful groups from the United States and Central American countries. The author points out that asymmetries in tariff levels favor U.S. producers and will not be equalized by CAFTA. Further, since the U.S. will not negotiate subsidies, the Central American countries that produce primarily agricultural products, such as Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras, will suffer the most. The U.S. subsidies on basic grains present a threat for the 5.5 million Central Americans that produce grains, creating problems for rural areas. Overall, U.S. grain subsidies are said to cause basic grain producers in Central America to lose their productive capacity for their own food as well as income, creating high rural unemployment, low income and low food security.
Region: Costa Rica; El Salvador; Guatemala; Honduras; Nicaragua.
Oficina de Políticas y Estrategias. 2004. “Resultados y Perspectivas del Sector Agropecuario en el Tratado de Libre Comercio con los Estados Unidos de América.” MAGES (Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería, República de El Salvador). January. (S)
Summary: This document summarizes the negotiations of the bilateral El Salvador-United States Free Trade Agreement under CAFTA, focusing on MAGES’s achievements for the agricultural sector in those negotiations. The context in which the FTA will be implemented is emphasized given that government policies must complement the agreements of the FTA so to maximize the gains for producers in El Salvador while promoting agricultural development. Ultimately, without discounting the opportunities that this FTA brings, it is recognized that the social deficit between El Salvador and the U.S. will be a limiting factor on the positive benefits the FTA can produce for El Salvador’s agricultural sector.
Region: El Salvador.
Oficina de Políticas y Estrategias. 2003. “Informes Sobre CAFTA.” MAGES (Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería, República de El Salvador). March. (S)
Summary: Reviews many agricultural sectors in El Salvador, placing them in context with other Central American countries and the United States. Evaluates their potential for growth, particularly considering CAFTA, and their importance to the economy. Points out the limitations to growth and for trade for each sector.
Region: El Salvador.
PROCOMER. 2004. “Posicionamiento y Concentración de las Exportaciones.” Gobierno de Costa Rica. Documento para Discusión. (S)
Summary: This document categorizes the Costa Rican exports as consolidated, suspended, promising or a star in terms of future growth and importance. Excluding coffee and bananas, agro-industry and other agricultural goods are the most important export sectors in terms of total value. The suspended category includes exports that are slow growing and contribute little to export earnings. Agricultural goods in this category are seafood, wood and furniture. The consolidated category is for goods that have slow growth yet contribute a large amount to the country’s export earnings. This include the agro-industry, leather, footwear and textile preparations. Goods that are categorized as promising are experiencing high growth, but are not yet a significant share of export earnings. Included in this category are flowers, plants and foliage. The star category is composed of those goods who are growing strongly and contribute a large amount to total exports and include agricultural products. Specifically fruits and horticultures are the strongest in this category.
Region: Costa Rica.
Tovar, Carlos, 2006. "Medidas Sanitarias y Fitosanitarias y Obstáculos Técnicos al Comercio. Informe sobre Honduras y Nicaragua." Economic and Sector Study. Inter-American Development Bank. September. (S)
Tovar, Carlos, 2006. "Medidas de Defensa Comercial." Economic and Sector Study. Inter-American Development Bank. September. (S)
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