Paraguay boasts privileged conditions to capitalize on global demand for food, strategic resources, and forest products, but still faces structural obstacles that limit the development of its rural areas. This assessment was made by analysts and officials during the presentation of CAF — Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean's Report on Economy and Development (RED), titled "Roots of the Future: The New Rural World of Latin America and the Caribbean."
The event, held last week, brought together Guillermo Cabral, lead economist at CAF's Macroeconomic Studies Division; Javier Viveros, Vice Minister of Industry at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC); Cristina Goralewski, president of the National Forestry Institute (Infona); and Hanny Cueva-Beteta, UN Resident Coordinator in Paraguay.
Cabral noted that Latin America, and Paraguay in particular, is currently experiencing a window of opportunity supported by an abundance of natural resources, its position as a food exporter, and growing demand for inputs linked to the energy transition. However, he acknowledged that Paraguay's countryside still faces major challenges, such as the need for productive diversification, value chain development, environmental management, and productivity gains in certain segments.
On the social front, the economist pointed out that rural areas continue to show high rates of poverty, informality, infrastructure deficits, and difficulties for communities and producers to fully benefit from existing potential.
Javier Viveros emphasized that Paraguay has an enormous volume of raw materials to be industrialized, but that conditions must be created to connect producers to markets willing to pay prices that ensure a decent quality of life. As an example, he cited the case of Peru, which earns US$ 7 billion a year from fruit exports such as blueberries, citrus, and avocado.
"All of this can be grown in Paraguay. One hectare of blueberries generates US$ 50,000 in revenue. Imagine that compared to one hectare of chia, which generates 7 million guaraníes per year. A family with 3 hectares can change their lives," the vice minister said.
Viveros acknowledged that the MIC has a historical debt to producers regarding access to financing and stated that the government is working on a tailored financial product for domestic industry. He also mentioned the "Sí Calidad" program, which strengthens the National Accreditation Body (ONA) and the National Institute of Technology, Standardization, and Metrology (INTN) so that the country can issue internationally recognized quality certificates and open doors to more competitive markets.
"We are starting with the agri-food sector, because it is clearly the sector that will lead Paraguay's exports in the coming years. We have to invest in quality and excellence starting today," he said.
Cristina Goralewski, in turn, highlighted the progress of Paraguay's forestry sector, which now sources 70% of its raw materials from forest plantations, mainly eucalyptus, compared to just 30% from native timber, primarily destined for charcoal production. She compared the country's potential with that of Uruguay, which has 1.2 million planted hectares and exports more than US$ 3 billion annually, while Paraguay has the capacity for 8 million hectares.