(MENAFN- The Rio Times) Paraguay is having a quietly strong year. In September, economic activity rose 6.7% from a year earlier, pushing growth to 5.8% through the third quarter.

For outsiders who rarely track Asunción, the story is simple: the recovery is no longer riding on one big harvest or one mega-dam. It's spread across shops, factories, farms, and services-exactly the kind of mix that tends to create jobs and steady incomes.

Start with what's pulling the wagon. Services are the clearest signal of domestic demand, up strongly on the back of retail trade, transport, hospitality, real estate, finance, and telecoms.

That breadth matters for expats and investors because it points to everyday activity-people spending, firms hiring, and networks expanding-rather than one-off booms.

Factories are doing their part. Food processing leads (meat, oils, dairy, sugar, milling, baked goods), with help from paper, chemicals, non-metallic minerals, basic and fabricated metals, and machinery and equipment.



Electricity distribution, water, and sanitation are also contributing, a reminder that basic infrastructure is functioning well enough for businesses to plan and scale.
Paraguay's growth steadies, construction lags
A softer patch in wood products and in textiles/apparel shows where competitiveness is thinner, but it doesn't change the overall momentum.

On the farm, bigger harvests of corn, wheat, rice, and cotton offset weaker soy, while livestock output improved thanks to higher pig and poultry slaughter and more milk and eggs.

Mining-mostly stone and sand-nudged higher, feeding local supply chains. This primary-sector mix helps explain why the upturn has outlasted the last crop cycle.

Now, the red flag: construction. Both public and private works slowed, pulling the sector down. That matters because sustained growth needs fresh roads, housing, warehouses, and grid upgrades.

If project pipelines stall or budgets tighten, today's gains could lose steam tomorrow. The takeaway for foreigners is straightforward.

Paraguay 's economy is broadening and looks more predictable, with private enterprise doing much of the lifting and the state's basic services enabling rather than crowding out.

For expats, that points to a labor market with pockets of opportunity; for capital, it suggests a business environment where prudence and clear rules can still deliver returns-even if the cranes on the skyline pause for breath.

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