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COSTA RICA |
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Honduras
Crisis Affecting Costa Rican Trade
The political crisis in Honduras is having a
crippling effect on trade in Costa Rica as
well as other Central
American nations like Guatemala, El Salvador and
Nicaragua, losing millions of dollars of
trade every day.
Because of its geographical position,
practically all goods traded in the region
have to pass through Honduran territory,
whose movement have been hampered since the
crisis began at the end of June and
especially with last week's curfew, which is
still partially in place.
Two weeks ago, the de facto government
leader, Roberto Micheletti, closed off the
country's borders and shut down the
airports, with the arrival of elected
president, Manuel Zelaya, returning to
Honduras.
Although the restrictions on the borders and
airports have been lifted since, the
suspension of civil liberties continues,
causing political instability in the country
and affecting trade.
"It's untenable," the director of the Costa
Rican Chamber of Foreign Commerce, Fernando
Monge, tells BBC Mundo.
The closing of the Honduras border affected
the ability of trade to flow uninterrupted
between Guatemala, Mexico to the north and
Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama to the
south.
The greatest losses reported are in food,
especially in perishable products, spoiling
in trucks sitting at border crossings. The
movement of other items like clothing,
plastics and household goods is also
affected.
Passenger transport through the region has
also been severely affected. From Costa
Rica, Tica Bus offers bus travel throughout
the region, from Panama to Mexico and have
had to alter their schedules to avoid the
conflict, including the suspension to
Honduran cities.
The problem also lies in manufactured goods
and materials coming out of Honduras to the
region. Honduras is Guatemala's third
largest trade partner and it is estimated that the curfew
in Honduras costs Guatemalan businesses
almost us$8 million dollars a day.
And that's not all. Dozens of commercial
contracts have failed to be met, and
hundreds of people working in companies
within the border zones have stopped turning
up to work because of the recent border
closures.
In neighbouring El Salvador, the picture is not quite so
bleak.
The major concern for trade in the region is
the risk of riots, especially in Honduras'
capital city of Tegucigalpa, as unrest
continues while Zelaya is taking refuge in
the Brazilian embassy in that city, and
supports calling for his reinstatement.
Unless some settlement is reached, then the
political crisis will continue to affect
trade across Central America.
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