Paraguay will have even more hydroelectricity to export when planned new turbines are installed at Itaipú and the Yacyretá dam is fully completed.Paraguay has no oil reserves; it relies on imported oil to meet its limited need for oil-produced energy. Unlike many other Latin American governments, which followed an import-substitution industrial policy, the Paraguayan government had played a minimalist role in the economy through most of the postwar era, curtailing import tariffs and maintaining a realistic exchange rate.
This solvency facilitated access of Paraguay to international capital markets. In 1987 a group of Japanese investors was considering the construction of a new fertilizer plant with a 70,000-ton capacity per year. Industry was composed principally of manufacturing and construction. Although industry was becoming more visible in Paraguay in the 1980s, industry's share of GDP actually declined in the 1970s and 1980s because of more rapid growth in agriculture. Even as Paraguayan export revenue has fluctuated, Brazil remained Paraguay's principal export destination (27.8 percent in 2004), followed by Uruguay (15.9 percent), Italy (7.1 percent), Switzerland (5.6 percent), Argentina
The government's role in promoting industry increased in the postwar era, and in 1955 the Stroessner government undertook the country's first industrial census. Only 4% of the Paraguayan labor force works in companies with more than 50 employees. Most significant was the increase of soy production.
In the 1980s, however, Paraguay's exchange rate became overvalued and several state-owned heavy industry plants became operational. Paraguayan companies now meet 70 percent of domestic consumption and also have begun exporting drugs. *No spam: We will NEVER give your email address to anyone else. Approximately one-fourth of all new manufacturing investment from 1975 to 1985 was registered under Law 550.
However, logging for export, both legally and illegally, has thinned Paraguay's once abundant forests, resulting in a ban on the export of logs since the 1970s. It is Paraguay's largest and most consistent source of employment, employing about 45 percent of the working population. In 2003 Paraguay's hotel occupancy rate was 38 percent. One of Paraguay's fastest growing industries was the new, relatively modern plastics subsector, which supplied a wide variety of goods to the local market. Soybeans are particularly vital, accounting for 35 percent of total export revenues in 2003. Total tourism receipts declined annually from 2000 through 2002. It is generally accepted that recovery from the war finally came in the 1970s. Multinational agribusinesses, Brazilian settlers, and waves of Paraguayan colonists rapidly increased the competition for land in the eastern border region. Other significant exports include feed, meat, edible oils, electricity, wood, and leather.
Paraguayan banks hold less than 10 percent of deposits. In June 2007 external foreign exchange reserves amounted to US$2153 million, and the foreign official debt US$2154 million, close to parity. The importation of goods, especially from Argentina and Brazil, for sale and illegal reexportation creates service industry jobs. Government employees have no minimum wage. About 15 percent of workers are members of one of Paraguay's 1,600 unions.
The country also contained several small paper companies and one large paper and cardboard factory located at Villeta. The first was the completion of the road from Asunción to Puerto Presidente Stroessner and to Brazilian seaports on the Atlantic, ending traditional dependence on access through Argentina and opening the east to many for the first time. Sports, tourism, and also education are the main working activities for its citizens.The second and most populous city in Paraguay. Higher earnings from soybeans and cotton could not offset the surge in imported consumer goods and petroleum products.After years of negative balances, Paraguay achieved a positive balance of payments totaling US$234 million in 2003. Closing 2015, Paraguay exported a total of $8.33 Billion. The exports of Paraguay have increased 6.5% annually, led by electricity exports, representing 24.1%. This is one of the main reasons why there was so little economic activity in Paraguay at that time and why the country remained isolated. Direct foreign investment rebounded in 2003, reaching US$90.8 million for the year.Paraguay has depended on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank for economic development assistance. Law 550 promoted exportoriented industries or those that would save foreign exchange. Principal import commodities included automobiles, chemical products, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum, and machinery. In addition to saw wood, mills also produced a variety of milled wood, plywood, chipboard, and parquet flooring. Agriculture represents 30% of its GDP. The state accepts bids from international oil companies, selecting a few companies annually to meet the country's demand. Government spending on Although Paraguay faced significant obstacles to future economic development, it displayed extraordinary potential.