Panama agriculture protected in Mexico FTA

A LONG LIST of agricultural and agro industrial goods important to Panama’s econmy, will be excluded from the upcoming Free Trade agreement (FTA) with Mexco which got its first reading in the National Assembly last week.

 Among the items off the table are: chicken meat, eggs, dairy products, pork, coffee, wheat flour, rice, palm oil, sauces, tomato paste, potatoes, onions, sugar, juice, fruit drinks, soda plastic products, paper and aluminum.

Minister of Commerce and Industry, Meliton Arrocha told Capital.com.pa that “… ‘with this new trade agreement we seek to strengthen regional economic integration schemes, improving the balance in trade relations between Panama and Mexico, to strengthen our country as a logistics hub for the distribution of goods and services to the global market, among other reasons.'”

He added that “… the FTA opens up new opportunities for access, with tariff reduction periods of between 5 and 15 years for Panamanian goods which do not have a presence in the Mexican market such as: pineapples, papayas, sweet peppers, chilli peppers, fish meal and dried fish, electrolyte drinks, beer, toilet paper and paper towels. “