This article caught my eye. Just as I thought that the US would be sending us well marbled (intramuscular fat) beef, I see that we will be sending them healthy grass fed beef from here in Chriqui. I hope that they know how to chew well as it is still a little on the tough side. Our cattle are free range and not pen fed like the US. Much better for you but I do yearn for a standing rib roast that cuts with a fork!!
Sanitary certification of slaughterhouses in Panama could take three years, therefor Panamanian farmers are planning to export beef to the United States via Costa Rica. Not that Panama has unsanitary ones mind you. The US Army set the standards of USDA certification years ago and it has become the basis for the Panama beef industry.
Senior U.S. government officials have warned the livestock sector of Panama that obtaining medical records and certificates of origin which are required in order to be able to export to their country, could take at least three years.
This is too long for Panamanian producers, who are willing to build their own slaughterhouse in Costa Rica, near the Port of Limon, in order to operate from there, slaughtering their livestock there so that they can export the meat as Costa Rican with Panamanian inputs, which is covered under DR-CAFTA.
Capital.com.pa reports that “slaughter of cattle from Chiriqui and the central provinces would take place in the slaughterhouse, which would comply with the requirement for rules of origin, since the cattle would be raised in Panama, but processed in Costa Rica. ”
The executive director of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (Anagan), Euclides Diaz, said that “[the meat] would enter the U.S. market as a product with Panamanian inputs, but its origin is Costa Rican, which will be much faster than waiting for official processes to be carried out by the government of Panama”, emphasizing that this will be a process of triangulation or re-export.
Source: Capital.com.pa
Another example of the failure of the Panama government to get things done that would allow more of the money from the processing of the grass fed beef to the US. One of the obstacles of the growth of Panama (and probably most countries in the world) is the government. I have seen this many times where things could have been done better and faster if the government could just get their part done. It is great to see that the people of Panama have the ingenuity to get past these issues quickly. The Panama Beef even though you do have to chew it, is way healthier then US beef and with places like Whole Foods as the largest economic food store chain in the US I see there being more demand in the US for Panama beef then in Panama for US beef. Those heart attaches are just not good, some of us think it is better to chew then die.