Sequence for setting up an agro-export operation

The dossier's practical order: (1) land — screening with IGN/MAGA maps at 1:250,000 plus your own plot-level study; (2) water — check whether the plot falls inside a MAGA irrigation unit or requires a well and its own water rights; (3) registrations — the production unit with VISAR's Food Safety Directorate and, if the crop has an official program (avocado, mango, rambutan, peppers, tomato, papaya), the farm and packing plant in the PIPAA work plan; (4) private certification — GlobalGAP/PrimusGFS through local bodies such as Mayacert; (5) the importer side — FDA registration and a US agent, plus geolocated traceability if the destination is the EU under EUDR; (6) documents per shipment — SEADEX code → DEPREX/DUCA F → phytosanitary certificate (ePhyto where the partner accepts it) → certificate of origin under the free trade agreement; (7) cold chain and departure — a cold 3PL (Emergent Cold or others) and air freight through COMBEX-IM (the GUA–MIA corridor) or reefer sea freight through Puerto Quetzal/Santo Tomás; (8) people — budget for the 2026 agricultural minimum wage (Q3,791.20 CE1 / Q3,625.89 CE2 + Q250) and the rules in Title IV of the Labor Code.

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