business & economy

Also in this section:
Odebrecht gets Brazilian government backing for work in Panama
Recognizing an attack
The Panama News readership figures
Panama's bond rating still below investment grade
Globalization in the labor movement
Business & Economy Briefs

Business & Economy Briefs

Customs accords accompany lifting of Free Zone bans

Panama and Colombia appear to have settled their dispute over the latter's bans on certain imports from the Colon Free Zone out of court. The case, in which Colombia restricted imports of clothing, shoes and certain other items from the Free Zone because it said there was too much smuggling going on, was headed to a World Trade Organization panel. But Panama agreed to share customs information with Colombia and the restrictions were lifted. The Torrijos administration has also made similar arrangements with Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, and more such accords are on the way with the Central American countries.

New head of RP team for US free trade talks

Attorney Leroy Chepard has been named to replace Stif Aparicio as the head of Panama's negotiating team for a free trade pact with the United States. The talks, which had reached agreements on many points, were postponed until after the canal expansion referendum. No date for the talks' resumption had been set. Now, however, the recent US elections put control of both houses of Congress into the opposition Democrats' hands and it might turn out that the American position will have to change on certain points. There remains an outside possibility of an agreement being rapidly finalized and approved by a lame duck Congress before the changeover next January.

Agricultural health regs coming into effect

Color it a victory for US farm interests, but Panama's ANAGAN cattle ranchers' industry group calls it a blow to national health. On November 15 new agricultural sanitation and quarantine rules go into effect and the most controversial part of them is Panama's willingness to take the certifications of the US Department of Agriculture at face value. Within the United States consumer groups have been complaining for years about a decline in USDA inspections, and in Panama the ranchers are not happy about US certifications that, despite a couple of isolated cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease), American beef exports are safe. Panama's agreement to accept USDA certifications has come as part of the process aimed at a US-Panama free trade agreement. Panama is far from the only country that took action against imports of US beef after BSE reports, but especially during the Moscoso administration these were prolonged for economic protectionist reasons.

Price of bread going up

The price of a quintal of wheat has gone up from $22.50 to $24.50, and El Panama America reports that its poll of bakers indicates that the increase is going to be passed on to consumers in the form of a price hike of about a nickel per loaf of bread, depending on its size.

Bus assistants' jobs threatened

Commonly known as "pavos," the bus drivers' assistants may soon be out of work by presidential order. Severino Mejía, the acting Transito director says that new bus regulations will eliminate the positions. Pavos --- literally translated, "turkeys" --- are best known for shouting routes at bus stops, often accompanied by lies about vacant seats on vehicles that are jammed to standing room only capacity. However, they also play a safety function as an extra set of eyes to tell drivers when it's safe to pull away from a stop.

ACP looking for tilapia farmers

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) is considering offers for tilapia farming concessions. There have been a few enterprises commercially growing the fish in tanks in Gatun Lake for several years, and now the ACP is looking to expand this industry and increase its ancillary revenues.

Puerto Rican company wants to raise cobia here

The cobia, a pelagic fish found in most tropical and temperate seas, with the notable exception of the Eastern Pacific may just be the tastiest fish for which there is no substantial commercial fishery. That's because the adults swim as individuals or in small groups, often in the company of sharks (they're related to remoras) and can't be practically caught in great numbers. However, it turns out that cobia can be raised in ocean pens, growing to 12 or 15 pounds in one year, about three times faster than salmon. Taiwan has pioneered the raising of cobia and now Snapperfarm, Inc, a company based in Puerto Rico, is applying for a concession to raise the fish in waters off of Colon and Bocas del Toro provinces.

Citibank buys Banco Uno

After scaling back its operations in Panama for several years, Citibank is growing here again. The largely Saudi-owned Citibank has bought Grupo Financiero Uno, which runs Banco Uno, which is based in Panama, has branches in five Central American countries in addition to the ones here and is the region's largest issuer of credit cards. The assets that Citibank has bought --- subject to approval of regulators in several countries --- are worth some $2.1 billion. The companies have not announced how much is to be paid, or in what form, to close the deal.

Coco Solo port work suspended

Between the Manzanillo International Terminal (run by Stevedoring Services of America) and the Colon Container Terminal (run by Evergreen) there is the port of Coco Solo, which mainly serves vessels that work the Caribbean coast of Panama. Plans to expand that facility to include a fuel bunkering service have been halted after a complaint by Evergreen led to some tests and it was allegedly determined that tankers going in and out of the little port to bring in the fuel that would be sold would likely pose a threat to the larger international seaports on either side. The promoter of the halted development, Empresa Colon Oil and Services, complains that its permits were all in order for the $13 million project.

Whose diamonds?

A package containing undeclared diamonds made its way from South America into Panama by way of reputable couriers, addressed to a foundation created by two Americans in Boquete in the care of a large law firm. The law firm, which says that it knew nothing about the shipment, was informed of a package and sent a messenger to retrieve it at Tocumen Airport, and upon opening the package and finding the diamonds, took it to Customs. Then Customs held a press conference showing off the prize and naming several names, most of whom vigorously protested their innocence. Nobody has claimed the diamonds, and an investigation about smuggling and money laundering is now underway in the affair.