Obtaining health records in Panama is a complex task, since it is the only Central American country that requests physical samples of new toiletries and cosmetics.

Another factor influencing delays in the issuance of health records is the need for new procedure manuals and more staff, according to local authorities.

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Melissa Perez de Patterson, president of the Central American and Caribbean Chamber of Cosmetics and Cleaning Products (Cacecos), explained to Elcapitalfinanciero.com that “… Panama is the country in the Central American region that presents the greatest barriers to trade in terms of registration processes for toiletries and cosmetics, as it is the only country in the region that requests physical samples for the Sanitary Registration of cosmetic and hygiene products.”

Perez added that “… it is complex to present the sample of a product that is not yet on the market. These actions result in ‘Panamanian citizens do not have access to innovative products in the categories of cosmetics and toiletries that do enter the other countries of the region.”

Regarding that the regulations for the issuance of health registrations of medicines and cosmetics is the same, Rosa Buitrago del Rosal, dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy of the University of Panama, believes that cosmetics could be regulated with different regulations to medicines and other therapeutic areas.

Reports from CentralAmericaData state that in the first nine months of 2018 the main importer of beauty and personal care articles in Central America was Guatemala, with $86 million, followed by Costa Rica, with $74 million, Panama, with $61 million, El Salvador, with $60 million, Honduras, with $42 million and Nicaragua, with $36 million.