In the first six months of last year, countries in the region imported $38 million in wine, 17% more than in the same period in 2017, a rise caused by purchases from Chile and Spain.

Regional business upwards
Between the first half of 2017 and the same period in 2018, the value of wine imported into Central America increased 17%, from $32 million to $38 million.

For the years concerned, imports from Spain and Chile increased 25% and 17%, respectively, as purchases in the European country grew from $7 million to $9 million, and from Chile from $9.7 million to $11.3 million.

Costa Rican companies, main buyer
In the first six months of 2018, the main importer in the region continued to be Costa Rica, with $14 million, followed by Panama, with $11 million, Guatemala, with $6 million, El Salvador with $3 million, and Honduras and Nicaragua, with $2 million each.

Main suppliers
From January to June last year, 30% of the value imported from Central America was from Chile, 23% from Spain, 11% from the U.S., 10% from Italy and 8% from Argentina.

In the first half of the last seven years, Spain is the market that has grown the most, rising from 10% in 2012 to 23% in 2018.