From January to September 2019, companies in the region bought vaccines for human use abroad for $154 million, 56% more than what was reported for the same period in 2018, a rise that is mainly explained by the behavior of imports in Panama.

Panamanian Companies, Main Buyers
From January to September 2019, the main importer of human vaccines in Central America was Panama, with $61 million, followed by Guatemala with $31 million, Honduras with $22 million, Costa Rica with $20 million, El Salvador with $14 million and Nicaragua with $7 million.

Four of the six countries recorded year-on-year increases in purchases. In Panama imports increased 292%, while in Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador the increases were 32%, 24% and 19%, in that order.

Guatemala and Nicaragua were the markets that registered negative variations, reporting decreases of 2% and 3%, respectively.

Variation of Regional Business
Between January and September 2018 and the same period in 2019, the value imported into the region grew considerably, from $99 million to $154 million.

For the periods in question, purchases from U.S. companies increased from $18 million to $41 million.

U.S., Main Supplier 
As of September, this year, 27% of the value imported into the region came from the United States, 20% from Belgium, 17% from France, 9% from South Korea and 9% from India.