ABT: Fires tripled in 10 days; 33 remain active

The Forestry and Land Authority (ABT) reported yesterday that in 10 days the fires tripled in the country and there are currently 33 active fires in municipalities in the departments of Santa Cruz and Chuquisaca. Of the total, 21 are in protected areas.

Only 25% of industrial companies had access to credit to pay salaries

Only 25% of industrial companies have been able to access credit offered by the central government for the payment of wages and salaries; the rest of the companies have had problems obtaining this type of benefit. The Chamber of Industries regretted that the fund destined to the economic reactivation that aroused many expectations in the sector didn't work. Nor was it possible to carry out the rescheduling of credits for Bs 600 million ($86 mn) with favourable conditions, longer terms and convenient interest rates.

Beef exports triple in 2020

External sales of beef up to the third quarter of 2020 tripled concerning exports in the same period in 2019. As of September, the export of bovine meat registered a total of 42 million dollars (three times more than what reported in 2019) and a volume of 9,966 tons, mainly due to the opening of the Chinese market.

Reserves total of 5.58 bn at a rate of 15% of GDP

As of October 30, the Central Bank of Bolivia's reserves totalled $5.58 billion, down from $6.47 billion as of December last year. The RIN/Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio of 15% allows for covering between six and seven months of imports of goods and services. However, these may continue to fall if export revenues continue to decline, if remittances do not improve, or if investment in deficit projects continues.

CAINCO launches compramóvil, the app to boost trade

CAINCO creates Compramóvil, an application that becomes a club of companies that provide their workers with an advance of up to 60% of their wages and other benefits so that they can make purchases at instalments, in stores authorized for the program members.

In one month, diesel purchases reached $88.1 mn

Last September, Bolivia's diesel imports totalled 88.1 million dollars, one of the highest so far this year, due to the high demand in the domestic market.

Construction: permits fall 68%, leaving 60,000 people unemployed

Between January and August 2020, construction permits in the city halls registered a drop of 68%, due to the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It also generated 60,000 unemployed in the sector.