PARAGUAY NEWS
According to the report of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Service department, Paraguay River waters are descending slowly, so far 55 cm since its highest level registered this year (735 cm).
Commercial Import Team held meetings in Ciudad del Este with key account and prospect clients.
Key accounts: Neumaticos del Paraguay (Tires), SUNSET S.A.I.C.I.S (Tires), Eternidad (Forwarding agent) and New Tire Import Export. These clients are very satisfied with Interocean/Maersk service in general; transit time is a very important asset though the last few weeks it was affected by strikes at Buenos Aires transshipment port.
Prospects: Tabacalera del Este (tobacco and raw materials), Pioneer International (electronics) and La Yuteña (household appliances). These companies are willing to start with test shipments; they agreed to pay above the market price, for the added value in terms of transit time and customer service. Depending on good results to continue working with us.
We are receiving many complaints from feeder shipowners about congestions at T4 port, which are generating delays in the operation and departure of ships.
A delegation of distinguished visitors was part of the biggest country fair "Expo Rural 2014". Uruguayan President Jose Mujica, Dr. Bernard Vallat Director General of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), former Presidents of Chile- Ricardo Lagos, Brazil - Fernando Enrique Cardoso and Dominican Republic - Leonel Fernandez, a Russian business group led by Victor Starovoytov (interested in meat premium cuts and Ka'a he'é trade to Russia) and a Colombian company (interested also in buying meat).
The private sectors from Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia agreed to form a business lobby, Urupabol, with the purpose of actively combating protectionist policies and other obstacles implemented inside Mercosur, mainly by senior members Argentina and Brazil. The agreement was reached last week during Paraguay's main agriculture and industrial show, Expo 2014, and the Urupabol declaration states that the three countries private sectors will work jointly to support free trade and the rights of the smaller economies.
An uruguayan delegation of more than 25 members from private sector (ship owners, port operators and carriers), led by Alberto Diaz, President of the National administration
of Ports (ANP), met in Paraguay on July 15th, with the Chamber of Paraguayan Terminals (CATERPA) and with the Asociation of Maritime Agents of Paraguay (ASAMAR). Diaz said that in the first five months of the year, Paraguay shipments increased by 110% over the same period of 2013. "We have a signed decree that equated the conditions of paraguayan cabotage ships to the uruguayans. The regulation allows granting the same treatment to vessels of both countries in various operational aspects, including the assignment of port docks and outer ports, another disposition also mention equating the price of fuel used on board of the ships of both countries, and assure that the paraguayan vessels may conclude its operations at Montevideo in a maximum of 48 hours, which does not occur in other terminals in the region" said the interviewee. The goal is to capture Paraguayan shipments.
At the summit of Heads of State members of the Mercosur, president of Paraguay, Horacio Cartes, thanked the support of the member countries of the Southern Common 
Market (Mercosur) to their nation. He said “Paraguay returns to Mercosur with the clear intention to strengthen integration in the region”. Highlighted the will that the President Nicolas Maduro has put into finding possible solutions to settle the debt of usd 300 million of Petropar (PY) with Petroleos de Venezuela SA. He remarked that Paraguay will seek to reinforce sectors that Venezuela needs, specifically food industry, including meat, grains among others.
Py reports a harvest of over 9 million tons of soybeans, a new record, 13% compared to the previous crop, according to the figures released by the Paraguayan Chamber of Grains and Oilseeds Exporters, Capeco. The exact volume so far is 9.285.000 tons with an encouraging prospects for this year. Paraguay is among the world's leading exporters of soybeans behind, Brazil, US and Argentina.
Meat market:
- Expacar processing plant (rented by Frigorifico San Pedro) has been rehabilitated for export to Russia effective from July 11th.
- Plants #38 and #49 owned by Frigorifico Concepcion is under temporary restriction imposed by the Russian Veterinary service (Rosselkhoznadzor). Effective from 11.08.2014 (#38) and 15.08.2014 (#49).
- The decision by Russian veterinary authority Rosselkhoznador to suspend buying beef from eight Paraguayan meat plants at the beginning of this year, has cost Paraguay’s beef industry more than $60 million. The shipping reduction has been noted from 1st January to 28th February.
- Reaction of Hamburg Sud, our main competitor, to the temporal restriction on its biggest client Frigorifico Concepcion was immediate. They are aggressively approaching to our biggest clients mainly to San Pedro. We must react as fast as we can to protect our market share.
- Frigorifico Concepcion has already invested about usd 120 million after inaugurating industrial improvements for about usd 15 million. According to its president Mr. Jair Lima, they have a slaughtering capacity of 50.000 cattle head per month.
- President of JBS Paraguay Gaetano Gottardi, announced that the company plans to invest usd 16 million in a new processing plant with a slaughter capacity of 2.000 cattle head per
- day, construction will start in September and begin operating in late 2015. In total they plan to invest usd 100 million with the construction of the new plant, a new establishment for cattle confinement and a poultry processing plant.
- After Mercosur summit, President Horacio Cartes said that has received favorable comments about rehabilitating the market for Paraguayan meat. Retrieving the Venezuelan market is one of the major goals for the meat business this year, because it’s high level of demand and good prices. Volume of demand would be around of 250.000 tons per year, even beating the 100.000 tones of Russia and 20.000 tones of Chile.
- Pork meat export increased by 80% this semester (usd3.9 million), compared with the same
- period of year 2013 (usd2.1 million). Farms are currently working to continue investing to increase the amount of pork animals in Paraguay, which not only has a good acceptation in foreign countries, but at the same time, locally is having an excellent response from consumers. Major producer and exporter of pork meat is Frigorifico UPISA.