Browse Data and Analysis

In 2022, supermarkets, hypermarkets, and independent food stores continued adding locations, but retail volume sales fell versus 2021.

Guatemala’s coffee planted area remains steady at 305,000 (hectares) Ha but may shrink slightly in the middle term as other more profitable crops are starting to substitute some coffee areas.

The 2022 U.S. Agricultural Export Yearbook provides a statistical summary of U.S. agricultural commodity exports to the world during the 2022 calendar year.

In marketing year (MY)2023/2024, Guatemala is forecast to produce 2.6 million metric tons of sugar from sugarcane from a harvested area of 251,000 hectares.

Corn production in 2023/2024 is forecast to increase slightly, despite a reduction in planted area, as commercial farmers look positively at 2023 average record prices of $625/metric ton (MT) at the wholesale markets.

The Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR)[1] region and Panama combine to represent the seventh-largest market for U.S consumer-oriented products, totaling $3.7 billion in 2022.

The Guatemalan economy relies on foreign exchange generated by remittances, international trade, and the tourism sector. Guatemala represents a growing market for U.S. companies and is a country with relative economic stability. U.S. exports of agricultural products to Guatemala in 2021 increased 28 percent from year 2020, reaching $1.6 billion.

Guatemala adopted science-based regulations for the adoption of agricultural biotechnology in 2018. These regulations were immediately challenged by activists but in 2021 the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court reaffirmed the legality of the regulatory process, paving the way for the approvals of the first applications in April 2021.

With international funding to develop and implement biosafety regulatory systems drying up in 2019, Caribbean biosafety regulatory efforts remain in idle mode. The region is seeking further funding from the United Nations Environmental Program/Global...

In June 2022 the Government of Guatemala confirmed that poultry products exported to Guatemala no longer need the USDA export mark on every box, and instead USDA can apply the mark on every consignment, pallet, or transportation unit. This has resulted in more efficient export clearance times with reduced labor, dock space and loading time which ultimately translates into better poultry prices for consumers.

The HRI report provides U.S. agricultural exporters current information on market trends and the best product prospects for the Guatemalan market.

The Ministry of Health issued three updates this year: a) Presidential Decree 53-2022 establishes new fees for services as of March 1, 2022 b) Technical Norm 001-2022 provides regulations for food supplements, and c) Communication dated June 1, 2022 establishes guidance for sampling processed food products in Guatemala as part of the routine surveillance.