I have never heard a farmer say, things are great and I am making a fortune.   With oil prices lower and the cost of Ag chemicals lower, it is hard to imagine this happening in Panama.

Farmers have denounced the fact that half of the investment needed for cultivation goes towards agrochemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides and compost.

Despite the complaints from producers, who state that distributors of agrochemicals receive “… financing of up to 60% of what they sell to producers”, who have to pay after selling their crops, the “… Authority for Consumer Protection and Defense of Competition (Acodeco), claims that the necessary raw materials for agricultural production have come down, even by up to 30% in some cases. ”

Panamaamerica.com.pa reports that “… According to the Acodeco, the price of some fertilizers and compost has decreased, but domestic producers say that when they talk about these drops, they are only taking into account the “the worst brands” on the domestic market. Currently, a sack of quality fertilizer, according to experts, is priced at around $40. However, on the rare occasions when commodity prices fall, producers can not use them because ‘the cost of storing them would be too high.'”

“… According to Gerardo Ruiz, an expert in agricultural production, the solution is to look for alternate products or invest in products without resorting to financing when they prices go down so as not to compromise the effective return of the crops and not to get into debt. “