• GDP: US$13.83 billion.
• Main imports: Capital goods, crude oil, foodstuffs, chemicals, other consumer and intermediate goods.
• Main exports: Bananas, petroleum products, shrimp, sugar, coffee and clothing.
• Main trade partners: Colombia, Costa Rica, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, Spain, Sweden and USA.

Panama has a relatively prosperous economy based on agriculture, light industry, revenues from the Panama Canal and the service sector. Over half the land area is given over to agriculture: the main cash crops are sugar cane, coffee and bananas, while the main food crops are rice, maize and beans. Commercial cattle-raising is also prominent. The country has significant reserves of timber, particularly mahogany, and good fishing stocks, shrimp being a major and valuable export earner. Local industries include food processing, clothing, paper and building materials. Panama also exports petroleum refined from imported crude oil. Further revenue is obtained from tolls levied on ships passing through the Panama Canal (which came under full Panamanian control in 2000) and from registration fees for a plethora of ‘offshore’ companies exploiting Panama’s strict banking and commercial secrecy laws (although the Government has recently instituted measures to permit disclosure in suspected cases of money-laundering).
Other important sources of revenue include the Colón Free Trade Zone established near the Canal through which 30 per cent of all Panamanian trade passes, an ‘open’ shipping registry, and a rapidly growing tourist industry now worth more than US$500 million annually. A major reform programme undertaken during the 1990s saw the privatisation of many state enterprises, reform of the tax and social security systems, and the removal of price controls and import tariffs. Current annual GDP growth is 6 per cent and inflation is around 2 per cent; the official unemployment rate is 12.6 per cent. Panama is a member of the Inter-American Development Bank. About 50 per cent of two-way trade is with the USA and Japan.

Punctuality is appreciated and the exchange of business cards is normal. Suits are necessary for business meetings. Office hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1700, Mon-Fri 0730-1630 (Government offices).

Atlapa Convention Centre in Panama City is the largest convention facility in Central America which has a capacity of 3000 and includes lecture rooms, a theatre/auditorium and exhibition rooms. Other centres include Figali Convention Centre and Vasco Nunez de Balboa Convention Centre.

Cámara de Comercio Industrias y Agricultura de Panamá (Chamber of Commerce)
Apartado 0816-07517, Avenida Cuba y Ecuador, Calle 34, Edificio 33 A-18, Panamá 1, Panama
Tel: 227 1233.
Website: www.panacamara.com

Atlapa Convention Centre (Information on Conferences/Conventions)
Instituto Panameno de Turimo, Via Israel, San Francisco, Panama City, Panama
Tel (507) 226 7000.
Website: www.ipat.gob.pa/atlapa

Figali Convention Centre (Information on Conferences/Conventions)
Tel: (507) 314 1414.
Website: www.panamacanalvillage.com/figalli

Vasco Nunez de Balboa Convention Centre (Information on Conferences/Conventions)
Tel: (507) 215 9286 or 269 2917.
Email: banquetes6@elpanama.com
Website: www.elpanama.com