Latin America
by Charles W. Thurston
Latin America Correspondent
thurstoncw@rodmanmedia.com
Costa Rica’s largest paint and coatings man- ufacturers have increased their exports to this hemisphere 61 percent over the last
five years, thanks in part to increased foreign investments in the industry. The statistics, reported by El
Financiero, cited the government’s La Promotora
de Comercio Exterior (Procomer) export agency,
which also indicates that the top ten manufacturers
export $44 million worth of paint annually.
The largest exporting manufacturers in
Costa Rica include: Colombia’s Pintuco, which
owns the Kativo brand and manufacturers the
Protecto, Glidden and Vastalux brands; Grupo
Sur, which owns the Sur and Koral Brands;
Comex and Lanco. Among non-exporting paint
companies are: Sherwin-Williams, which markets
its Excello acrylic latex line; Corporación BBG,
which markets the BBG and Ultra Plus lines; and
Fibrocentro, which markets the Pinturama brand.
Kativo operates three production facilities in the region, in Costa Rica, Honduras
and Panama, and operates a technical center
in Costa Rica serving its 68 stores in Central
America. Kativo was purchased by Pintuco in
August 2012. Lanco produces its Lanco brand
at one production plant in the country at
Alajuela. Mexico’s Comex distributes in Costa
Rica and the rest of the region, with a total of
some 90 points of sale. And in the pipe coatings segment, Lord Corp. recently forged a joint
venture in Costa Rica with Terramix.
Costa Rica’s five million inhabitants enjoy
a gross domestic product of approximately
$45 billion, with a relatively high associated
per capita income of $11,000. This compares
with approximately $8,000 for the region and
$13,000 for Panama, according to one think
tank. As such, the availability of disposable income for home paints is relatively strong.
Where domestic consumption levels finally
fail, exports pick up. Among neighboring country
importers of Costa Rican paint, Panama leads,
taking one-third of the production, followed by
Nicaragua, which takes approximately 20 percent
of Costa Rican production. In 2012, market analyst
IRL identified Honduras as an export destination
for substandard paints from unidentified sources.
Costa Rica’s economy is expected to undergo
a boost from the Presidential election on January
2, in which academic Luis Guillermo Solis, gained
a slight lead over ruling party candidate Johnny
Araya; a runoff vote is still expected. Despite a
pro-growth platform, the outgoing government
has suffered from corruption scandals.
Costa Rica has long been known as the business
capital of Central America, and has played a pivotal
role in regional development, as well. In June of last
year, Costa Rica helped forge the Central America-Mexico Free Trade Agreement, and in 2006 it
helped create the Dominican Republic-Central
America–United States Free Trade Agreement
(CAFTA-DR). Central America is comprised of
seven countries: Belize; Costa Rica; El Salvador;
Guatemala; Honduras; Nicaragua and Panama.
Last year when U.S. President Barack
Obama visited Costa Rica, he vowed to shift
U.S. focus on the region to economic development. U.S. trade with Central America was
worth $61 billion in 2012. CW
Costa Rico’s five
million inhabitants
enjoy a gross
domestic product
of approximately
$45 billion, with
a relatively high
associated per
capita income of
$11,000. As such,
the availability
of disposable
income for home
paints is relatively
strong.
Costa Rica Augments Paint Exports
Destinations for Costa Rican Paints & Coatings:
Shipments to Panama generated $15.6 million in 2013.
