PANAMA · SOCIETY
Key Facts
- Who Nilo Murillo, director of the IMA, Panama’s state food-marketing agency, made the announcement.
- What Christmas food bags cost US$15, but are free for households on the government’s earthquake census.
- How many Murillo estimates 10,000 to 15,000 free bags; the final number depends on validated records.
- Money Panama’s council of ministers approved US$21.6 million for the fairs; the legislature’s budget committee must agree.
- Next Start dates are not final and will be announced after budget approval.
- Power Index Panama ranks 11th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 33.3 points (November 2026 edition).
Panama’s food agency will give its US$15 Christmas bag free to households on the official earthquake census, its director said this week.
Panama’s state food agency will give its Christmas food bag free to households on the official list of earthquake-hit families, director Nilo Murillo said this week. Everyone else will pay US$15 for the bag, the same price as last year.
The agency, the Instituto de Mercadeo Agropecuario (IMA), runs the yearly Naviferias, Christmas fairs that sell picnic ham and holiday food bags across the country. This year’s fairs follow the magnitude 7.7 earthquake of 9 October 2026, which the US Geological Survey, the American government’s earthquake monitor, recorded in Panama.
Who Gets a Free Bag
Murillo said the free bags are for households on the official emergency census, the government’s list of affected households, not for everyone in the affected areas. “The bag will go to the families that are inside the emergency statistics,” he said.
He estimated between 10,000 and 15,000 families, but said the final number depends on validating the records and on identifying beneficiaries through the QR code on their national ID cards. The IMA has not yet announced when the free bags will be handed out.
What Is in the Bag
Murillo said this year’s bag adds new items to the usual staples, including mixed vegetables, pigeon peas, cooking oil and maize for tamales, plus a bread ring. The price stays at US$15.
How the Fairs Are Paid For
The Cabinet, Panama’s council of ministers, approved a supplementary credit of up to US$21,631,495 for the IMA, according to a communiqué from the Presidency, the president’s office. The money will buy 500,000 picnic hams and other products, and pay for sacks and transport.
The request still has to pass the budget committee of the National Assembly, Panama’s legislature, which Murillo expects to take it up next Tuesday, 17 November. The start dates and final distribution details will be announced once the budget and the list of beneficiaries are cleared.
Why It Matters
The free bags give the earthquake relief a concrete size: at the regular US$15 price, 10,000 to 15,000 bags are worth US$150,000 to US$225,000, by our arithmetic. That is about 0.7% to 1% of the US$21.6 million credit, which also has to fund the wider fairs and 500,000 hams.
What It Means for You
For readers with family in Panama, the practical points are eligibility and price: the free bag is limited to households on the official census, and everyone else pays US$15. Panama’s balboa is pegged to the US dollar and US notes circulate, so the price needs no conversion.
What Is Not Known
An earlier announcement pointed to Tuesday 1 December in Chiriquí province, but the IMA now says start dates will follow budget approval. It is also not known whether the Assembly’s budget committee will approve the full credit.
The final number of eligible households depends on the validation of the census records. Reports of the bag’s exact contents differ in detail.
Our earlier reports cover the one-month recovery and the first temporary homes after the quake. Our Panama news page follows the next steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the Naviferias Christmas bag in 2026?
It costs US$15, the same as last year, IMA director Nilo Murillo said. Households on the official earthquake census get it free.
Who gets the free Christmas bag?
Households in the official emergency census after the 9 October earthquake, not every resident of the affected areas. Murillo estimates 10,000 to 15,000 families.
When do the Naviferias start?
The IMA has not announced start dates. It says they will follow budget approval and the validation of beneficiaries.
Sources: Instituto de Mercadeo Agropecuario (IMA), public statements by director Nilo Murillo, November 2026; Presidency of Panama, Cabinet communiqué on the IMA supplementary credit, November 2026; US Geological Survey, magnitude 7.7 earthquake near Pitaloza Arriba, Panama, 9 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error