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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Paraguay’s industry minister says long-term financing is key to sustaining growth

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

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  • Paraguay’s industrial sector grew by an average of 3.2% annually over the past decade, and the government expects 3.9% growth in 2026.
  • Industry accounts for about 19% of gross domestic product but receives only 7.5% of bank credit, with most financing lasting one to three years.
  • The government and financial institutions are designing an industrial investment product with terms of up to 15 years, grace periods, and guarantee mechanisms.

Paraguay’s industry is heading into 2026 with a favorable outlook, but the sector says it cannot fully expand without longer-term financing. Industry and Commerce Minister Marco Riquelme identified access to credit as one of the main challenges facing manufacturers.

The minister told ABC that industry has grown by an average of 3.2% a year over the past decade, in line with Paraguay’s broader economic growth. Metal products, chemicals, machinery and equipment, food products, meat, sugar, baked goods, and textiles helped drive that performance.

For this year, Riquelme said the sector expects 3.9% growth, supported by new investment and increased exports of value-added goods. Yet industry represents roughly 19% of Paraguay’s gross domestic product while receiving only 7.5% of bank lending.

For this year we expect positive performance, with projected growth of 3.9%, driven by new investments and the expansion of value-added exports.

· Marco Riquelme, Paraguay’s industry and commerce ministerHe described the sector’s growth outlook during Paraguay’s National Industry Day.

Existing financing typically runs for one to three years and is used mainly for working capital. A survey conducted between 2025 and 2026 by the Inter-American Development Bank, the Development Finance Agency, and the Sustainable Finance Roundtable found that only one in 10 banks in Paraguay has a lending line specifically for industry.

Riquelme said the government is working with the public financial system and intermediary banks to structure an industrial investment product. The proposal would offer terms of up to 15 years, grace periods suited to launching investments, and guarantee mechanisms. He said the initiative aims to close the sector’s long-term financing gap, create formal jobs, and support national productive development.

The minister also pointed to Paraguay’s clean and competitive energy, macroeconomic stability, and simple, predictable tax system as advantages in competing with regional industries. He added that the country has a young workforce.

We are structuring, together with the public financial system and intermediary banks, a specific product for industrial investment.

· Marco Riquelme, Paraguay’s industry and commerce ministerHe explained the proposed response to the industry’s shortage of long-term financing.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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