I was just discussing the subject of logistics with a farmer back in the US.  Panama has an excellent roadway system and here in Chiriqui we have a new international airport.  Why someone has not figured out that we can produce some of the best high quality vegetables in the highlands of Chiriqui and air freight them to the US is beyond me.  It certainly is easier that over land freight to neighboring countries.  This article explores the issues.

High transport costs and delays at border crossings are the main barriers to trade in Central America.

From an article published on Bancomundial.org:

Logistics and Transportation: A long way to go in Central America

– Trade in the region, as a share of GDP, grew by 8% between 2000 and 2011
– Local producers mostly affected by bottlenecks in transport, customs and rural roads
– The key to overcoming the obstacles is collaboration between the public and private sectors

Why is it more expensive to take tomatoes from San Jose in Costa Rica to Managua than to San Jose, California, which is 10 times farther away?

According to Google, the distance between the Costa Rican capital and Managua is 430 kilometers, while the distance to the Californian city is 5,400 kilometers. According to World Bank statistics, the cost of transportation in Latin America and the Caribbean is two to four times higher than in OECD countries.

Bringing tomatoes from neighboring Costa Rica to Nicaragua should be as easy as it is for the hundreds of tons of the fruit sent each week from Spain to France. But the reality is very different.