Panama exports trail region

PANAMA’S EXPORTS fell ll.9% against the same period last year and trailed every country in Central America in the first quarter of 2015.
Of the $7.368 billion of goods exported from the region in the first three months of the year, only 2.3%, or $168,400, related to Panamanian products.

 Figures released by the Secretariat of Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) put Costa Rica top of the export league with $2. 369 million exported in the first quarter (32.2% of the total), followed by Guatemala ($1.836 billion) El Salvador ($ 1.168 billion), Honduras ($ 1.151 billion) and Nicaragua ($674.000).. 
The total value of exports from Central America contracted 3.4% compared to the first three months of 2014. “Although intraregional exports registered a positive variation of 1.5%, trade with partners outside the region remains depressed when registering a variation of -5.4%, “the report said.
The list of export products abroad is led by coffee and (18.1% of the total), bananas (10.0%), sugar cane (8.6%) and medical devices (8.0%).
Within the top 10 most dynamic products in the first quarter of 2015 were coffee (interannual variation of 43.0%), medical devices (39.2%) and orthopedic (52.3%).
Total imports in Central America recorded a decline of 5.1% during the first three months of 2015.
However, although the Panamanian imports fell 6.2% between January and March 2015 compared to 2014, the country ranks as the third biggest importer in the region, with $2.971 billion 18.1% of the $16 .451 billion purchased by the region.