Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, new businesses' registration fell by 19 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019. Economists agree that companies require support from the government because the reduction impacts the country's unemployment rate.
Month: Feb 2021
Santa Cruz opens the Santa Cruz-Warnes viaduct costed $8m investment
The viaduct on the Santa Cruz-Warnes dual carriageway, which cost Bs 55.5 million ($8 million), is now a reality. The structure will free the vehicular traffic of more than 22,000 vehicles per day on the Red Vial Fundamental. It comprises three sections of 25.6 metres in span, each supported by piles. It has a total length of 1,040 metres from north to south. Its structure is 732 linear metres long, each access ramp is 321 metres long, and a bridge is 90 linear metres long.
Blockades halt exports of $2.5 mn a day
While the national government, together with soybean producers and the oil industries of Santa Cruz, continue to analyse the validity of the price band for soybean meal, the blockades on the highways connecting Santa Cruz with Cochabamba and Beni reached their third consecutive day yesterday, causing a loss of 2.5 million dollars a day for exports that are not carried out.
Foreign exchange reserves only enough for four months of imports
Net International Reserves (NIR) fell to 4,999 million dollars on 10 February 2021. Although the downward trend has been going on since 2014, analysts say the current levels are worrying because, when the foreign currency takes into account, Bolivia would only have enough to cover four months of imports without the gold reserves.
San Cristobal mining company’s sales fall 41% in one year
In one year, sales at San Cristóbal, the country's largest mine, fell by 41% due to the decline in mineral prices and contraction in demand due to the pandemic, according to a balance sheet of the company's profit and loss statement comparing September 2019 to the same period in 2020.
Soybean: price band creates losses of $100 mn and risks exports
Soybean producers in Santa Cruz completed their first day of blockade yesterday, demanding the national government to eliminate the price band for soy derivatives, given that this system alters the negotiation with the oil industries and leaves a loss of at least 100 million dollars.
The National Centre for Vegetable Seed Production Produces 14,000 kg of seed
The National Centre for Vegetable Seed Production (Cnpsh) works to improve tomato and other species in the country, support producers, and guarantee food security. Every year, the institution produces more than 14,000 kilos of the seed of 14 vegetable species. Fifty per cent of the production is of carrot seed, 20 per cent of onion seed, and less than 10 per cent of tomato seed; the rest is of other species. The institution is prioritising the launch of a hybrid tomato variety on the market, which improves yields.
Entel profits fell $61.7 mn in 2020
The National Telecommunications Company (Entel) reduced its profits by more than 430 million bolivianos ($61.7m) compared to 2018. The company's accountability report did not show the numbers of 2019 when the decline was already evident.
Reserves are encroached upon, and INRA plans to authorise settlements on 4,000 ha
The illegal entry of people into the Bajo Paraguá Municipal Protected Area and the Guarayos Forest Reserve warns of the return of severe conflicts over land tenure in Santa Cruz. The Guarayos native peoples denounce that the encroachers intend to take parks, reserves and native lands even with firearms, while the National Institute of Agrarian Reform (INRA) plans to authorise settlement resolutions on 4,000 hectares in the first quarter of 2021 alone.
Mi Teleférico’s income last year fell by 55%
The State Cable Car Company Mi Teleférico's service revenues fell last year by 55%, and the number of passengers transported by 58%, due to the quarantine dictated by the COVID 19 pandemic.
