Honduras´ major exports and imports

Honduras is a haven for agriculturalist being one of the most agriculturally productive countries in the world. They grow everything from bananas and tropical fruit to coconut, coffee and sugarcane. They are also great at aquaculture because of the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean on the north and south of the country respectively. Their ports have been instrumental in moving and boosting the country’s GDP and here are their main exports:

Honduras´ Main Exports

Coffe

Honduras is the primary coffee exporter from Central America. Coffee has historically been the main export item of Honduras even before the country began to export bananas. But since the year 2003 the growth in annual coffee export from the country have grown enormously. Key coffee regions in Colombia include Montecillos and Copan.

In 2019, the country exported 6.8 million bags of 60 kilograms each amounting to $950 million in revenue generated. This is a mega shipment and even though coffee prices have dropped worldwide, Honduran coffee still remains a favorite in international markets and is also still the leading export product from the country. The Honduras is the seventh largest coffee exporter in the world

Knit Fabrics

The textiles industry in Honduras produces some of the main export products from the country to the international market. Apart from generating revenue for the country through trade this industry is also instrumental in creating thousands of jobs for the local population. The textiles account for 39% of the total exports from Honduras amounting to $3.68 billion.

Knitted fabrics produced from their textiles industries make up $2.6 billion of the $3.68 billion generated. Using cutting edge technology the country is able to create some of the best fabric used internationally in the clothing sector. Honduras is also a leader in creating international apparel for export.

Palm Oil

Honduras is the** largest exporter of palm oil in Central America** with 50% of their palm oil production being exported. The country has registered an increase in palm oil exports from the 2010 with a 5.62 growth rate in 2019. Forty-five percent of the palm oil exported from South America comes from Honduras.

The country mainly exports to Mexico, the United States and countries in the Caribbean. Honduras has been taking advantage of the global palm oil boom by expanding the size of local land under palm oil production from 135,000 hectares to double that figure. The country makes $365 million from their palm oil exports annually.

Honduras´ Main Imports

Fuel

Fuel imports for the country reached around 15% in 2017 which amounted to $9.9 billion. This is 11% of the total imports of the nation. Honduras has not been able to derive enough oil from its territory to make a significant income from mineral fuels. But the country heavily relies on refined oil products to run the manufacturing and processing plants for their textile and agricultural industries. These two are the key industries running the economy so most of the fuel imported is used by them.

Main exporters of fuels to Honduras include the United States and Mexico. They export fuel oils, lubricants, gasoline and other fuel related substances. U.S. company Chevron is still interested in pursuing investigations on Honduran soil to ascertain whether the country has oil reserves in its maritime territory.

Cotton

To sustain their textile industry the country needs to import non-retail pure cotton yarn which happens to be their second largest import. This import makes four percent of the total imports of the country. In 2018, they imported cotton worth $622 million and the United States exported 8% of their cotton yarn to Honduras.

Although the country is also using synthetic yarn most of the knitted fabric coming from Honduras is well received because it contains a high percentage of natural cotton. It contains 85% cotton yarn excluding the sewing thread. In 2019, cotton yarn imports into Honduras saw the country spend $724.6 million. This resulted in the manufacture of sweaters and pullovers worth $864 million, vests and crotcheted knits, T-shirts, tank tops worth $647 million, and slacks and suits worth $283 million in revenue.

Electrical Machinery

The electrical machinery needed in Honduras is mainly used to run their textile and manufacturing plants. Because the country is heavily reliant on these two sectors, they make the bulk of the machinery imported into the country which includes agricultural equipment, assembly equipment, apparel production equipment as well as food processing equipment.

This category of imports totaled 9.5% of the total imports into the country to the tune of $978.7 million. They also import a lot of packaging manufacture equipment that is used create packaging to pack their export produce. This is because the country also exports packaging materials like carton boxes. The packaging industry is a huge revenue generator for Honduras especially in the coffee, palm oil, banana and shrimp industries that need specific packaging requirements.