Latin America Customs Brokerage Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

Latin America Customs Brokerage Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2021 - 2026)

The impact of COVID-19 has cut across many international trade aspects, including supply chain management, manufacturing, importing, exporting, customs, and logistics. Complex regulations and bureaucracy commonly confronting logistics players in Latin America are being streamlined due to COVID-induced digitization. Before the pandemic, the electronic transmission of data prior to the arrival of goods to customs was rare in the region outside of express mail. Combating the pandemic obliged countries to expedite the clearance and release of medicines, diagnostics, kits, and equipment. Customs organizations in countries across the region, including those in Peru, Panama, Colombia, and Chile, quickly suspended deadlines and procedures to prevent goods from falling into legal abandonment.

For shippers entering the LATAM market, friction at the border can be incongruous in a striking way. Bureaucracy, outdated clearance practices often result in lengthy customs delays and this has led to rampant corruption, with many customs officials known to request bribes in order to expedite the clearance of goods.

Companies operating in the logistics sector across varied end users are proactively adopting latest technologies and software platforms to efficiently carry out the customs process like documentation, customs clearance etc.

The rapid growth in the last mile deliveries and end to end seamless and fast deliveries in the logistics market is one of the main drivers as to why there is a sudden growth in the number of companies offering specialized customs brokerage services as a part of their portfolio.

Factors such as growing adoption of IoT enabled connected devices and increasing adoption of tech-driven logistics services fuel the growth of the Latin America customs brokerage market.

In addition, the development of the e-commerce industry and the increase in reverse logistics operations boost market growth. However, the lack of control of manufacturers on logistics services hinders the growth of the market.

Key Market Trends

Growing Ocean frieght

Maritime logistics can be considered the backbone of the trade, as it transports around 84% of volumes traded, worldwide, and almost 70% of global trade value. As reported in August 2020, similar ratios can be found in Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly in the South American and Caribbean sub-regions.

In this context, ports play a significant role in ensuring wide distribution of goods through supply chains, including those considered essential, such as food and medical supplies.

A significant amount of time is taken by in-country customs and customs brokers to sort goods. As a result, inventory builds up and customs costs can be excessively high, leaving customers frustrated as materials often take too long to arrive.

Growing retail sector in the region

International e-commerce is helping lead the growth in the retail sector. Global cross-border e-commerce is projected to account for one-fifth of online retail sales by 2022. With this increase already underway, retailers are able to expand to new markets and reach new customers in developing regions, like Latin America and Africa.

In Latin America, an increasing number of people have access to the internet due to mobile phones. This is driving the expansion of e-commerce in the region. Though Latin America is still a smaller market than North America or Europe, online sales are expected to grow over 19% in the region in the next five years.

Latin Americans are showing a willingness to shop internationally online. In 2019, nearly 55% of Latin American consumers made a purchase from an overseas retailer.

As reported in January 2020, the e-commerce segment is expected to see a double-digit boost in Latin America within the next couple of years, with Mexico and Brazil being the top performers in the region.

Competitive Landscape

The market is fragmented, with the presence of many domestic companies. Some countries are open to trade with simple customs laws that are easy to understand and execute. Others use customs as a barrier to controlling trade and source of revenue. They continually apply new fees or penalties. Suppliers in the customs brokerage industry are observing a high demand across the region due to the exponential growth of industries, such as chemicals, pharmaceutical, FMCG, and packaging.

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