Managua, 24 mar (EFE) .- The Government of Managua today asked Barack Obama to support administration of the company estadounidenseCone Denim, International Textile Group, which closed operations in temporalmentesus Nicaragua's economic crisis.

The call was made by president of the Corporation ZonasFrancas of Nicaragua, Alvaro Baltodano, during a meeting with foreign accredited laprensa in this Central American country.

The official claimed that the textile and clothing company, in queoperaba free zone for export, is a symbol in Nicaragua's North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) quemantienen United States and Central America.

The indefinite closure of the U.S. textile group, queinauguro in mid 2008 at a plant in Nicaragua manufacture of denim cloth, with an investment of $ 100 million, is a blow to the FTA, he said.

What are we looking for? That the United States, that treaty as partede, support (the company) to find how to save estaindustria, he said.

textile firm operating in the U.S. deCiudad Sandino municipality, 12 kilometers west of Managua, with 850 empleosdirectos.

The plant producing denim fabric that is used in the laconfeccion bluyines (jeans).

Baltodano felt that the U.S. has the responsabilidadmoral to support the company, which closed its operations by reducing dossemanas makes radical in their sales, without precisardatos thereon.

He said that Washington should fund the company Cone Denim of U.S. capital and other having the same problem elistmo, to achieve remedy the current crisis.

It would, he explained, something similar to what America has done his country, which has injected resources into banks and companies.

Baltodano noted that since October closed cuatroempresas operating in free zone in Nicaragua quehan left 2,800 people jobless, the product of the economic crisis.

details the volume of exports from EPZs Nicaragua fell by eight percent in January 2009 in relation aenero 2008, and in value, the decrease was 22 percent.

However, he emphasized that exports by volume fell Maseno Guatemala (35.21 percent), Costa Rica (27.56 percent), El Salvador (26.88 percent) and Honduras (16.26 percent).

And value fell more in Costa Rica (40 percent), Guatemala (36 percent), Nicaragua (22 percent), El Salvador and Honduras, both at 18 percent.

The crisis, today, has not beaten us to the other countries of Central America, he said.

129 companies operating in Nicaragua under the francasque areas generate 76,000 direct jobs.

In 2008, EPZ exports totaled 1248 million U.S. dollars, slightly higher than 1243 million during 2007 reached dolaresque he said.

The government recently agreed to Managua ysindicatos entrepreneurs with an eight percent increase in the minimum wage for lostrabajadores zones for this year and 2010 to produce 12 per cent. EFE

LFP /lam /or