Paraguay

Paraguay has the cheapest industrial electricity in South America and most buyers outside the region have never heard of it. Itaipu and Yacyreta give the country a vast hydro surplus relative to its own consumption, and that single fact - abundant, cheap, clean power - is the foundation of its industrial pitch. Combine it with the maquila regime, under which qualifying export manufacturers pay a flat tax of one percent on value added, and Paraguay becomes a genuinely attractive place to put an energy-intensive or assembly-based plant. EMM quotes a lot of equipment into exactly that argument.

Getting goods in

Paraguay is landlocked and the river is the main artery. One of the largest inland barge fleets in the world works the Paraguay-Parana waterway down to Nueva Palmira, Montevideo and Buenos Aires, and for heavy or bulky equipment barge freight is usually the cheapest way in, if the schedule allows. Road through Brazil to Paranagua, or through Chile, is faster and dearer. Ciudad del Este on the Brazilian border is a re-export trade centre of real scale, and some of what we ship here is bound onward.

Industry

Maquila assembly for the Brazilian and Argentine markets is the fastest-growing sector - wire harnesses and automotive components, clothing, footwear, plastics, electronics assembly - and it buys cutting, crimping, moulding, sewing, testing and handling equipment. Soy is enormous, with Paraguay among the world's largest exporters, and the crushing, refining, biodiesel, drying, storage and port handling demand is substantial. Beef processing is a major export industry taking slaughter, chilling, freezing and packaging plant. Yerba mate, sesame, where Paraguay is a leading supplier, stevia, maize and wheat milling all have their own processing requirements. Cement, steel and construction materials serve a growing domestic market.

Conditions

Line voltage is 220 V single phase and 380 V three phase, 50 Hz, with an unusually reliable grid. The Chaco in the west is one of the hottest places in South America, regularly exceeding 45 C with dust, while the east is humid subtropical. INTN administers standards and Mercosur sets the duty position. Spanish and Guarani are both official; we supply Spanish documentation.

Tell us if you hold or are applying for maquila status, and ask us to compare barge freight against road. Both change the number materially.