Exports of goods from Latin America and the Caribbean entered contracted  2.4% in 2019. It is estimated that the value of total external sales in the region will fall by 2.4% in 2019, after growing 8.7% in 2018 and 12.2% in 2017. said  a Latin American Development Bank (IDB) report published on Tuesday, December 17.

 Panama appears among the countries that managed to stay in positive territory, with an estimated 3% growth, driven by shipments to Europe and the rest of Latin America.

According to the IDB, increases in foreign sales in the Dominican Republic and Panama and, to a lesser extent, in Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador offset the contraction of Honduras.

The official statistics of Panama, until the month of October, marked a trend still above the expectations of the agency.

The value of exports of goods increased by 4.6%, according to the Comptroller General. The net value of the shipments was  $610.6 million, from January to October.

The banana reflected a 33.2% increase, for the melon the improvement was 58.1%, the watermelon was 33.9% and the coffee 40%.

In Panama, however, negative variations were recorded  in the pineapples (23.1%), shrimps, down 38.9%; fish and fish fillet, with a decrease of 23.9% and unrefined sugar, with a decline of 13.8%.