Agriculture, Economy, Nation, World

Salvadoran coffee and sugar exports revive the markets

The metrics of the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) between January and August of this year indicate that the agriculture, livestock, forestry, and fishing sectors reported international sales of $221 million, a 40% growth compared to the first eight months of 2021.

Of this figure, the two national products that stand out in this sector are coffee, with sales of $174 million, and sugar, which sold for $144 million, the entity said.

Regarding the grain of gold, the country reported sales of $174 million between January and August of this year, that is, 60% of what was sold in the same period last year, when accumulated sales were $109 million, a difference of $65 million, said the president of the BCR, Douglas Rodríguez.

“The favorable conditions and the fact that more countries are demanding Salvadoran coffee have contributed to obtaining an additional $65 million, so much so that last year a quintal of coffee was priced at $173, and this year, between January and August, it was sold for $241, an increase in price of 15%,” he explained.

He added that in the first eight months of this year, the country exported a total of 629,000 quintals of coffee that reached more than 40 countries around the world, and that the most demanding aromatics are the United States, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Italy, UK, Italy, and South Korea.

As for sugar, Rodríguez explained that from January to August of this year, exports were reported at $144 million, which means a growth of 13%, when compared to the same period in 2021, when international sales accumulated $128 million, a difference of $16 million.

The official explained that this growth is also related to the price per quintal, which last year was sold for $17, and now has a price of $21.

In the case of the Salvadoran sweetener, there are 16 destinations that buy this product. Among them, the main consumers are: the United States, Canada, Haiti, Spain, Peru, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan, among others.

According to the BCR, El Salvador’s total export basket is made up of 847 products and maintains trade relations with 120 countries around the world. Thanks to these figures, foreign sales reported up to August were $5,091 million, that is, 16.7% more than the $4,362 registered in the same period of 2021.