1.2.3.- Guatemala

Figure 1.4 Country map Guatemala.

1.2.3.1.- General facts

Official name: Republic of Guatemala           

Capital: Guatemala City

Name
The country name comes from the Nahuatl word ‘Cuauht?mall?n’, meaning ‘place of many trees’, a translation of the K'iche' Mayan word ‘K'ii'chee'’, meaning ‘many trees’ or ‘forest’.

Time
Six hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT -6)
The Netherlands: daylight saving time = GMT +2, winter-time = GMT +1

1.2.3.2.- Geography

Location
Guatemala is located on the Central American isthmus and lies between 13°30' - 18°00' northern latitude and 88°15'-92°30' western latitude.

Borders
Mexico to the north and west (962 km), Belize (266 km), Honduras (256 km), El Salvador (203 km) and the Golfo de Honduras to the East, and the North Pacific Ocean to the south.

Area
108,890 km2 (108,430 km2 of land and 460 km2 of water)

Altitude
The lowest altitude level in the country is the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea at sea level, the highest point is Tajumulco, a volcanic mountain with an elevation of 4,211 m. The capital Guatemala City has an altitude of 1,480m.

Characterization
Guatemala is characterized by a mountainous landscape, except for the south coastal area and the northern vast lowlands of Petén department. The Petén contains the largest remaining tropical rainforest in Central America. Two mountain chains cross Guatemala from west to east, dividing the country into three major regions: the highlands, where the mountains are located; the Pacific coast, south of the mountains; and the Petén lowlands, north of the mountains. The countries most fertile farmland is on a 50km wide area of the lowland along the Pacific coast. All major cities are located in the highlands and Pacific coast regions. The three regions vary in climate, elevation, and landscape, providing dramatic contrasts between hot and humid tropical lowlands and colder and drier highland peaks.

1.2.3.3.- Recent history

From 1944 to 1954 the progressive governments of Arévalo and Jacobo Arbenz implemented social and agrarian reforms in an effort to modernise and democratise the country. The reforms included a large land reform plan. However, their efforts encountered strong opposition from large landowners, including a US multinational company, United Fruit (Chiquita Banana), and from the US administration under Dwight Eisenhower. While United Fruit feared to lose their business, they proclaimed communistic activities were underway in Guatemala. This made the US government to undertake action and in 1954 the elected government of Mr. Arbenz was overthrown by a US-backed coup.
The coup leads in a succession of right-wing military and civilian governments. The Communist Party was outlawed, and left-wing and even centrist political parties and trade unions were violently suppressed. The exclusion of left-wing opposition spawned a guerrilla movement, which had its origins in a split within the armed forces. The repression intensified under the regime of General Romeo Lucas García (1978-82). At the same time, the rebel movement gathered force in poverty-stricken rural areas. In 1982 the main guerrilla groups joined together to form the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG). In the same year, General Efraín Ríos Montt seized power in a military coup. He intensified the counter-insurgency campaign by wiping out entire villages in predominantly indigenous rural areas. After defeating the URNG strategically, General Ríos Montt was himself ousted by a military coup in August 1983. His successor, General Oscar Mejía Víctores, fulfilled promises to restore electoral democracy.
In January 1996 Alvaro Arzú of the Partido de Avanzada Nacional (PAN) assumed the presidency. With the backing of the business community, Mr. Arzú began an ambitious programme of economic modernisation through privatisation of state-owned companies and increased investment in social and economic infrastructure. His administration also successfully concluded peace negotiations with the URNG, bringing an end to 36 years of armed conflict. The peace process was negotiated between the government and the URNG under the auspices of the UN and concluded in December 1996 with setting out a comprehensive blueprint for political, social and economic reform.

In the year 2000, Alfonso Portillo Cabrera of the Frente Republicano Guatemalteco (FRG) assumed the presidency. His administration was characterised by allegations of corruption, by attempts to politicise the judiciary and weaken the accountability of institutions and by growing human rights abuses. Polarisation of the political parties increased and confrontation with the business sector and the non-governmental organisations intensified. Relations with the US worsened owing to falling drug interdiction rates and allegations that individuals linked to the government and the armed forces were involved in money-laundering. At the end of the Portillo administration, popularity ratings of the FRG were drastically reduced.
In 2003 Mr. Berger, of the Gran Alianza Nacional (GANA) and a formerly PAN mayor of Guatemala City, won the presidential election. Under the Berger administration a number of high-ranking members of the Portillo administration and military officers were charged for corruption. Portillo himself was indicted for corruption as well, but he fled to Mexico in 2004. The Mexican government has issued him with a work visa and to date no attempts have been made to extradite him to Guatemala to answer the pending charges.
In July 2006 the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the U.S. came into force, enhancing trade and investment opportunities and cementing Guatemala’s close relations with the U.S.
In September 2007 new presidential and legislative elections have being held, and the first round was won by Mr. Colom from UNE with 28%. He won with only a slight margin of 4% over Mr. Perez from the PP. A second round of elections will be held on the 4th of November 2007 and define who will become the next President of Guatemala. During the elections in September, Mrs. Menchu, Noble Peace Price Winner for her attempts to bring justice to the suppression of indigenous communities, participated as well. Her party gained only 3 % of the votes. It is expected that the change of government will be much more fluent than former changes. Guatemala has a bad track record on governmental changes in terms of information which is simply deleted on massive scale to avoid corruption accusations and to hinder new governments. Nowadays, most information is digitalized and will remain to be available.

1.2.3.4.- Social aspects

Population

Development
Human Development Index (HDI): 0.673 (rank 118) (2006)
Human Poverty Index (HPI-1): 22.9% (rank 48) (2006)      (See Appendix C, Table c.1)

Working Population
Unemployment rate : 7.5% (2003 est.)
Composition : 38% agriculture; 14% Industry, 48% services (2006)

Immigration / emigration
Civil war, rural poverty, landlessness, drought and, more recently, the coffee crisis are some of the factors that have boosted international and domestic migration. It is estimated that between 1.2 and 1.4 million of Guatemalans (about 10% of the population) live in the U.S. The state of Chiapas in Mexico is another destination for Guatemalan emigration.

Social stability
Widespread poverty and the weak rule of law are at the root of the frequent outbreaks of social unrest over the past few years. Landless and dispossessed farmers have occupied large farms, public-sector workers have staged strikes demanding wage rises, and former Patrulleros de Autodefensa Civil (PAC), civilian defence patrollers, have pressed for financial compensation for their role in supporting the security forces against the guerrillas during the civil war. Demonstrations are on the whole peaceful, but some spiral into violence at short notice. Outbreaks of unrest have caused disruption, with demonstrators blocking roads, public buildings, and international airports.

1.2.3.5.- Safety

Criminal activity is a serious problem in both rural and urban areas and reflects the ready availability of firearms, the high unemployment and poverty rates, a poorly trained and under-resourced police force, and a weak justice system. The overall rate of violent deaths fell slightly in the last two years, yet violent crime remains a serious concern, particularly in Guatemala City, which ranks as one of Latin America’s most violent cities. Street gangs, known as ‘maras’, are responsible for an increasing amount of crime and are often linked to drug-trafficking. Lynching, once confined to rural areas, where the rule of law is even weaker than in the cities, have also occurred in urban areas, although the level of rural lynching has declined in the last two years.
In rural areas, violent crime has increased in the past few years. Armed attacks on vehicles near the borders with El Salvador and Mexico are frequent. Vehicles on routes that used to be relatively incident-free are now also subject to hold-ups, including the Pan American highway, the route to Lake Atitlán, and the route to the Pacific. The police force patrols the roads, but this protection is limited by a lack of resources and poor training. Criminals often open fire on vehicles before stealing items of value, or robbing cars or lorries transporting goods. Foreign tourists have also been victims of violent crime on the roads. The establishment of the Policía de Turismo (Politur), the tourist police, in 2001 has, however, helped provide security at important tourist sites. Secondary roads and some remote areas of the country are unsafe, owing to the activities of drug-traffickers and smugglers dealing in archaeological artefacts and natural resources.
The most common activities of organised crime groups are bank robberies (including banks’ armoured cars), contraband, drug-trafficking, people-smuggling, money laundering, car theft and kidnapping.
Express-kidnappings are the favoured tactic of organised crime groups: a victim is kidnapped for a relatively small ransom and is swiftly released once payment is made. The under-resourced police force has been unable to penetrate into organised crime and has often been involved in criminal operations itself.

1.2.3.6.- Political aspects

Form of state
Unitary Republic

Constitution
The constitution of Guatemala was approved on the 31st of May 1985, and made effective from 14th of January 1986.

Executive power
The president and the vice-president are elected by universal suffrage for a term of four years.  The president may not be re-elected. The president appoints the cabinet and is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Legislative power
Congress is unicameral, comprising of 158 deputies.

Judiciary power
The highest judicial authority is the Supreme Court, but the Constitutional Court takes precedence when issues of constitutionality are in question.

Main political parties
Government: Gran Alianza Nacional (GANA)
Opposition: Frente Republicano Guatemalteco (FRG); Unidad Nacional de la Esperanza (UNE); Partido de Avanzada Nacional (PAN); Partido Patriota (PP); Encuentro por Guatemala (EG); Partido Unionista (PU); Alianza Nueva Nación (ANN); Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG); Desarrollo Integral Auténtico (DIA); Partido Liberal Progresista (PLP); Unión Democrática (UD); Partido de Bienestar Nacional (BIEN)
Political stability
Political stability and absence of violence indicator (PV): -0.89 (2005)
(See Appendix A, table a.1)
In 1996 the Guatemalan government signed the final peace accords with the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG), bringing to an end the 36-year civil war. Although few of the commitments have been fully met by successive governments, the risk of a renewed confrontation is extremely low. The guerrillas have demobilised and their leaders have been incorporated into the political mainstream.
Guatemala has a long-standing territorial dispute with neighbouring Belize. In the early 1990s Guatemala finally recognised Belize as an independent nation, but an agreement on the frontier has not yet been reached. Guatemalan communities in the border area frequently complain of incursions by the Belizean security forces, heightening tensions between the two countries. Bilateral negotiations are being held under the auspices of the Organisation of American States (OAS), but a definitive settlement is unlikely in the short term. Despite sporadic local incidents, the risk of armed conflict is extremely low.
Guatemala’s armed forces have undergone some restructuring as a result of the peace accords, which call for a military mandate limited to the defence of national sovereignty and a proportional cut back of its troops.

Effectiveness
Government effectiveness indicator (GE) : -0.70 (2005)
Regulatory quality indicator (RQ) : -0.26 (2005)
(See Appendix A, table a.2)

Corruption
Control of corruption indicator (CC) : -0.98 (2005)
Corruption Perception index (CPI) : 2.6 (rank 111) (2006)
(See Appendix A, table a.3 and Appendix B, table b.1)

1.2.3.7.- Economic aspects

Currency
The local currency is Quetzal (Q). For exchange rate see table 3.1.

Developments
Since 1980 the profile of Guatemala’s economy has shifted from an agricultural economy, centred on coffee, sugar and banana production and exports, to a largely services-based economy focusing on commerce and financial services. Nevertheless, agriculture is still the second largest sector in the economy after commerce, accounting for 22.2% of GDP (2006).
The economic performance of Guatemala tends to fluctuate with the terms of trade, and stop-go economic policies have intensified the variations. The economic growth has been disappointing since the end of the civil war in 1996, despite access to external donations and loans as part of the peace process and large foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows through the privatization programme. During 2001-2004 the rate of economic growth even dropped to below that of population growth. Under President Berger, economic growth has picked up spurred by, amongst others, the ratification of DR-CAFTA.

Foreign investment
Privatisation efforts have progressed slowly in Guatemala and the country continues to rely on loans from multilateral agencies to develop major infrastructure projects. Furthermore, investment is constrained by poor business environment, a low savings rate and poor access to credit for small and medium sized enterprises. However, Guatemala’s government has made promoting foreign investment a priority in its four year development program.
The 1996 signing of peace accords, which ended 36 years of civil war, removed a major obstacle to foreign investment. In 1998, Guatemala passed the Foreign Investment Law, reducing the barriers to foreign investment. The privatisation process that followed attracted FDI inflows (mainly communications, commerce and chemical sectors). Since then, investment dropped again, performing poorly during 2000-2004 and exports weakened significantly as the slowdown in the US affected demand in Guatemala’s biggest market, as well as in the Central American region.
FDI has been increasing in the last years to US$ 208 million in 2005 and to US$ 325 million in 2006. Still Guatemala’s exporters claim that the delay in implementing the Central American Free-Trade Agreement has caused an important loss of foreign investment and jobs in 2006. On top of that, the actual figure is still very low considering the size of the country and the potential provided by sectors like tourism, agriculture and the service sector. Safety issues and crime remain to be the major restraints for FDI.

Free trade zones
At the moment there are 14 Free Trade Zones (‘Zona Franca’) located in Guatemala:

Centro Industrial para la Exportación, El Cacoa, El Naranjo, Parque Industrial Z la Union, S.A., RDC Industria Modernas S.A, Terminal LC, S.A., ZOFRACRO, ZOFRATUSA, Zona de Libre Comercio Santo Tomas de Castilla (ZOLIC), Zona Franca Cropa, S.A., Zona Franca Omega, S.A., Zona Franca Pelicano, S.A., Zona Franca Puerta Parada y Zonas Francas Actuales S.A.

(For more information: http://zonasfrancas.net/zonas.php)

DR-CAFTA
In December 2003 the DR-CAFTA was signed by Guatemala, in May 2006 Guatemala's Congress ratified the DR-CAFTA and in July 2006 the treaty came into effect, after completion of all necessary steps.
In the agricultural sector, the DR-CAFTA immediately permits free access to the Guatemalan market to more than half of US farm exports entering the country. Guatemalan vegetables, fruits, ornamental plants and other non-traditional exports to the US are duty-free. Guatemala also obtained an increase of its sugar quota. To protect Guatemalan products from US farm subsidies, a regime of import quotas was agreed, which will be gradually eliminated over 20 years. DR-CAFTA will also permit a special agricultural safeguard to protect countries from temporary surges in agricultural imports.

Regional development
Whereas agricultural activity takes place in various areas of the country according to the suitability of geography and the climate for growing certain crops, manufacturing is mainly located in the central area near Guatemala City. As part of development programmes in marginalised rural areas, multilateral creditors and bilateral donors are channelling more funds through municipalities. The areas worst affected by the civil war that ended in 1996 are found in the west and north-west of the country.

1.2.3.8.- Fiscal aspects

In Guatemala, the Superintendencia de Administracion Tributaria (SAT) levies tax on personal and corporate income.

Tax exemption
Guatemala has a decree for tax exemption which includes activities of agricultural exporting companies (La Ley de Fomento y Desarrollo de la Actividad Exportadora y de Maquila, Decree 29-89) to promote, stimulate and develop the production of goods with destination to countries outside of Central America. Part of the decree is that the company doesn’t pay income tax and sales taxes. The objective is to promote foreign direct investments and generate employment.

1.2.3.9.- Invesment capital

Availability
Next to the commercial banks, Guatemala has a bank that is focussed on financing agricultural activities in the rural areas (Banco del Desarrollo Rural S.A.) through different programs of financing investments and working capital (see also: http://www.banrural.com.gt).
Interest rates
Lending rate (Q): 13.0% (2005)
Deposit rate (Q) : 4.4%             (2005)
Lending rate (US$): prime rate +1-2%

1.2.3.10.- Infraestructure and communication

Roads
Except for the highland and southern coast areas, many regions in Guatemala lack roads that are passable all year round. In 2004 about half (41.6%) of the 14,283 km of roads were asphalted. The Pan-American Highway and the Pacific and Atlantic Highway are the main routes. In addition, there are roads to Honduras, El Salvador, and the northern regions of the Verapaces and Petén. Upgrading the road network was an important part of the Arzú Government’s strategy, but public expenditure on road infrastructure has been declining steadily in recent years.

Airports
Two international airports: La Aurora (Guatemala City) and Santa Elena (Tikal, Petén). The airport in Guatemala City has an export terminal for agricultural products (COMBEX-IM) with up to date facilities (logistic and cold chain). Guatemala City has various direct freight carriers to Miami International Airport in the United States. The Airport is finally being renovated in 2007. Plans to built a new airport outside of Guatemala City itself have not been accepted and therefore, the actual airport is being modernised and extended.

Harbours
Guatemala has 3 important harbours: Santo Tomás de Castilla and Puerto Barrios on the Atlantic coast, and Puerto Quetzal on the Pacific coast (which superseded Puerto San José). In 2004 these harbours obtained a qualification from the International Sea Organisation, certifying that they fulfil new safety standards. In 2002, the Portillo administration announced plans to privatise the three harbours; however, there was no subsequent progress. Also the present Berger administration has not mentioned these plans or included them in the short-term investment program.

Railroads
The rail network of the Ferrocarriles de Guatemala (Fegua), the national railway, in Guatemala connects the Pacific and Atlantic coasts through Guatemala City, with branch lines west along the Pacific coast to Mexico and east to El Salvador.
In 1997, a 50-year concession to restore and operate the Guatemalan rail system was awarded to the U.S. company Railroad Development Corporation (RDC). Ferrovías Guatemala (FVG), RDC’s local operation, reopened an 800 km railroad connecting Guatemala City with Mexico, El Salvador, and ports on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. After years of little maintenance, loss of traffic, invasion by squatters, the abandonment of operations in 1996, and the destruction caused by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, commercial services were resumed in 1999 to the Atlantic ports of Puerto Barrios and Puerto Santo Tomás de Castilla. Subsequent phases of the rehabilitation project will see restoration of service to Mexico and El Salvador.

Telephone
Telephone mainlines: 92 /1,000 people (2006)
Cellular subscribers: 258 /1,000 people (2006)
The state owned telecommunications company Telecomunicaciones de Guatemala (Telgua) was privatised in 1998 and is now controlled with a majority in shares by the Mexican based América Móvil. At the moment Telgua is the primary provider of local, long-distance, wireless and internet services in Guatemala. However, privatization also opened the way for other telecom companies to enter the Guatemalan market. The Spanish based Telefónica began operations in Guatemala in 1999 and is at the moment one of Tegua’s main competitors, along with several smaller companies
The fixed-line market is controlled by Telgua, currently owned by Telmex (Mexico).
Four operators compete in the wireless market: Comcell (Millicom); Telefonica (Spain); PCS Digital (Telmex/Mexico) and Bellsouth (USA). Local operators employ CDMA, TDMA and AMPS.

Internet
Internet users: 61 /1,000 people (2006). Internet use has increased rapidly in recent years and has become available in most current places. Rural areas still lack access and it is unlikely that this will change in the near future. Nevertheless, most agricultural companies have their head office in Guatemala City where internet access can be considered as good.

Electricity
The privatisation of the Empresa Eléctrica de Guatemala SA (EEGSA), the state electricity company, began in 1993 with the sale of its generating facilities. In 1998 the government privatised the entire distribution network.
An international consortium including TPS Ultramar (US), Iberdrola (Spain) and Electricidade (Portugal) spent invested in 80% stake in EEGSA serving the departments of Guatemala City, Escuintla and Sacatepéquez. The Instituto Nacional de Electrificación (INDE), the national electricity institute, awarded 80% of the shares in two regional distribution companies (Deocsa and Deorsa) to Unión Fenosa of Spain. The profits of these last privatizations are being used to expand electrification in rural areas. The Ministry of Energy has set a target of expanding national coverage to 95% of the population, but it is not clear when this target will be reached.
The share of hydroelectricity generation has fallen from 93% of total generation in 1990 to 36% in 2004. This has reduced Guatemala’s vulnerability to changes in rainfall patterns. However, with the share of thermal generation increasing from 7% to 53% in the same period, Guatemala’s exposure to oil price fluctuations has risen, as has the amount of gas emissions, raising environmental concerns. About 45% of all electricity services are concentrated in three of the country’s 22 departments. Guatemala’s potential for generating energy from renewable sources is not fully exploited.

1.2.3.11.- International trade agreements

Guatemala was one of the last countries to sign DR-CAFTA and many say that this is the dominant reason for some companies to have left Guatemala and for some others to have chosen other countries for their investments. Nevertheless, DR-CAFTA has been ratified in mid 2006 and since then, FDI has started to increase and Guatemala is regaining its position as an attractive alternative for future investments. Various other trade agreements exist but like in many other Central American countries, benefits have remained too limited until the day of today.
Multilateral Agreements

Customs Union

Free Trade Agreements

Partial Preferential Agreements

(For more information: http://www.sice.oas.org/ctyindex/GTM/GTMAgreements_e.asp)

1.2.3.12.- Labour

Availability
Labour can be considered as one of Guatemala’s strongest points for foreign investors. It is available in high quantities and it is affordable. A restraint on labour is the large number of indigenous cultures in Guatemala having their own language. A total of 22 official languages are registered in Guatemala in a country which is three times the size of Holland and has a population of only 13 million persons.       

Quality
In rural areas, basic education suffers from poor access, high desertion and high rates of illiteracy. To address these deficiencies, the government of Alvaro Arzú (1996-2000) raised public spending on education, and implemented programmes to promote community and parent-managed primary schools (PRONADE) and to increase bilingual education. Education policy under the administration of Alfonso Portillo (2000-04) was erratic and at times poorly implemented: a programme to decentralise education provision failed because parents did not receive proper training. Furthermore, government education spending is insufficient for Guatemala’s development needs.
In 2004, President Oscar Berger Perdomo defined improving education as one of the highest priorities of his government. Raising the number of students who complete primary school, improving community participation and establishing higher standards in schools have been among the targets of his government.

Minimum wages

Minimum wages in the agricultural sector and non-agriculture activities are given below.

Public holiday
January 1st; Good Thursday; Good Friday; Good Saturday; May 1st; May 10th (Mother’s Day; day off only for employees who are mothers); June 30th; August 15th (Guatemala City); September 15th; October 20th; November 1st; December 24th (half day); December 25th; December 31st (half day).

1.2.3.13.- Climate and natural resources

Climate
The tropical country of Guatemala is consistently warm (often quite pleasant) with very pronounced wet and dry seasons.
Typical for a mountainous country, high and low temperatures vary substantially based on the elevation level. In general terms the interior plains and coastal lowlands in Guatemala reach average daily highs of 32° C to 38°C with little seasonal change; the lower mountain valley temperatures are in the 18°C to 20°C range, while the upper elevations average nears 5°C.
As for precipitation, Guatemala's rainy season runs (May to early December), with the greatest amount of rain falling in the plains of the northern Paten region; there, 315 cm of yearly precipitation, or more, are quite common. The eastern highlands of the Sierra Madre Mountains receive the least amount of rainfall.

Natural resources
Guatemala has a total land area of 10.9 million hectares of which a 17 percent is suitable for agricultural purposes like coffee, sugarcane, horticulture, fruits and vegetables.
In relation to the size of the farms, 45% is smaller than 0.7 hectares, 22% has a surface between 0.7 and 1.4 ha and 19% between 1.4 and 3.5 ha. Regarding the ownerships, 85% is owned by the farmer himself and 11% is leased. Arable and permanent crop land as percentage of land area is 17% (source: http://www.fao.org/).

1.2.3.14.- Subsidies and development programs

Guatemala is still a poor country with many internal problems based on race, gender and social and economic position in society. On top of that, Guatemala has a rich history and many archaeological, cultural and architectural treasures which are to be preserved for mankind. As a result, Guatemala attracts large international attention from governments and all kinds of (non-governmental) organizations. On top of all that, Guatemala is the biggest Central American country and houses around 35% of the Central American population (including Panama).
Subsidies for agricultural activities to be obtained from national entities are hardly available. The Berger government has made a serious effort to promote export oriented production and to stimulate the development of rural areas, but direct subsidies hardly exist. International subsidies do exist and good examples are the Dutch PSOM and PESP programs. These programs have been signed bilaterally in the year 2005 between the Netherlands and Guatemala and especially the PSOM program starts to gain interest. The Match Making Facility, a new program from the Dutch EVD, has become available in the year 2007 as well. 

1.2.3.15.- Agricultural sector organization and trade promotion

Agricultural sector organizations
The principal public bodies involved in agricultural and rural development are the Ministry of Agriculture and nutrition and the institute of agricultural science and technology (ICTA).

Trade promotion
Agexport is the Guatemalan Exporters Association; a private non-profit entity that represents, promotes and develops non traditional exports of Guatemalan companies. It provides assistance services to the exporters, serving the business community at-large in international trade activities and investments, whether in Guatemala or abroad.

Its mission is to promote the growth of exports based on competitiveness, contributing this way to Guatemala’s economic and social development in a sustainable way.
AGEXPORT'S objectives are:

 See also: http://www.export.com.gt/

Ministry of Agriculture
The mission of the Ministry of Agriculture is described as: Unit in charge of administrating politics and strategies which benefit the sustainable development of the agricultural, forestry and hydrobiology sector; throughout clear and stable regulations, productive resources, promotion of entrepreneurship, organisation, competitiveness and modernisation, based on the principles of subsidiary, transparency and efficiency. See also: http://www.maga.gob.gt/ and the agricultural portal ‘Infoagro’.
The Ministry of Agriculture has created a unit of ‘Agronegocios’ focused on the export of Guatemalan agricultural products. The general objective is to generate and analyze information for the agricultural production chains which serves as input in the decision making on the organization of the agri-business in the national and international market and to strengthen the marketing and commercialization. Specific goals are:

The Ministry of Agriculture has defined an Agricultural Policy 2004-2007. The general objective is to contribute to the sustainable improvement of the people who directly and indirectly depend on the agricultural activity, through the improvement of competitiveness, attention to rural agricultural activities (small farmers) and the management of the natural resources.