According to data from the Centerex Export Procedures Center, Nicaragua’s exports to China have declined in the first four months of this year to 2023.
In a report by Voice of America (VOA), they report that exports to China in the first four months of the year were just over $5 million, a figure $157,000 less than in the same period last year. 2022.
VOA consulted economist Daniel Sucher, who believes that the distance between China and Nicaragua does not allow competitive prices to be established.
“Exports to China have not been able to grow like the initial possibilities… Nicaraguan products have to cross the entire Pacific Ocean adding an extra cost of transportation and when the final product arrives the prices are not so competitive are,” she said. expert.
Figures from the Center for Export Procedures show that Ortega’s expectations have not been met despite the fact that the Minister of Finance and Public Debt, Ivan Acosta, assures in the official media that boosting trade with China is only a matter of time.
“China is a little further away, but it is a great opportunity to produce more for the market. Produce more products,” Acosta said.
Last year, the Nicaraguan foreign ministry announced an “Early Harvest Agreement” that included identifying export products from Nicaragua and China for which preferential tariffs would arise in a free trade agreement.
Nicaragua will export products such as meat, bovine offal, shellfish, vegetables, red beans, raw peanuts, rum, clothing fabrics and automotive harnesses to China without tariffs.
Meanwhile, China will also export to Nicaragua, with 0% tariff, plants and flowers, garlic, sweet corn, sardines and tuna, confectionery products, plants, bakery products, fish feed, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. In addition, plastic products, tires for buses and trucks, raw materials for textiles and toys.
With the announcement and extension of these agreements, the Ortega dictatorship intends to project economic strength in the face of sanctions that the Nicaraguan people face internationally for human rights violations.
