Paraguay Activates New Investment Incentives Regime (Law 7,548/2025)

Paraguay’s Chaco Could Become a Regional Fertiliser Hub

Paraguay is studying a proposal to develop fertiliser production in Carmelo Peralta, in Alto Paraguay, combining Argentine natural gas, the Bioceanic Corridor and river logistics. The project remains preliminary, but it illustrates how new infrastructure could give the western Chaco an industrial role beyond cattle ranching and transport.

16 September 2026

A proposal presented by Paraguayan officials at a regional gas-integration workshop in Montevideo has placed Carmelo Peralta on the map as a possible location for fertiliser production. The idea is to use Argentine natural gas as an industrial feedstock and take advantage of Paraguay’s improving transport connections to serve agricultural markets across the Southern Cone.

Carmelo Peralta offers an unusual logistics combination

The proposed location is strategically significant. Carmelo Peralta lies on the Paraguayan section of the Bioceanic Corridor, which is being developed to connect Brazil, Paraguay, northern Argentina and ports on Chile’s Pacific coast. It is also close to the Paraguay River, creating the possibility of combining road and fluvial transport for inputs and finished products.

For a fertiliser plant, this combination could reduce dependence on a single transport route and provide access to several large agricultural markets. Brazil and Argentina are among the world’s major crop producers, while Paraguay itself has a large commercial agriculture sector with significant demand for fertilisers.

A possible new industrial role for Alto Paraguay

Alto Paraguay remains one of the country’s least densely populated departments and its economy has traditionally been dominated by extensive cattle ranching and logistics activity. A fertiliser project would require a different industrial ecosystem: energy infrastructure, storage, specialised services, maintenance, transport capacity and skilled labour.

If implemented, the investment could therefore have an effect beyond the plant itself. Industrial projects of this type can create demand for local services and infrastructure and may encourage other companies to locate close to a new energy and logistics node.

Regional gas integration is the key variable

The proposal depends heavily on access to Argentine natural gas at a competitive price. Paraguay does not currently have domestic natural-gas production capable of supplying a project of this scale, so the economic case would require reliable cross-border transport infrastructure and long-term supply arrangements.

The project is still at an exploratory stage. No final investment decision, construction timetable or financing structure has been announced. Its feasibility will depend on the cost of gas, required infrastructure, environmental and regulatory approvals and the ability to compete with imported fertilisers.

The Bioceanic Corridor may attract production, not only traffic

The broader significance is that the Bioceanic Corridor could generate investment opportunities beyond transport itself. Better connectivity can make previously remote locations viable for industrial activities that depend on regional rather than local demand. For Paraguay, the long-term economic value of the corridor may therefore lie not only in moving goods across the Chaco, but also in creating conditions for new production to take place there.

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