El Salvador’s export revenues showed a solid recovery in 2025, growing by 4.6 percent after a contraction the previous year, according to projections from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The rebound was driven by higher export volumes, with plastics and plastic manufactures, coffee, and food preparations emerging as the main contributors to growth.
“El Salvador’s exports reversed the 0.8 percent decline recorded in 2024 and are estimated to have expanded by 4.6 percent in 2025, driven entirely by volumes,” the IDB noted in a report published Thursday. The multilateral institution added that increased sales to regional markets played a key role in offsetting lower shipments to the United States and Asia.
Exports to Central America grew by 5.2 percent, while shipments to the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean expanded by 6.9 percent. Trade with the European Union stood out, posting a strong increase of 35.1 percent, reflecting growing diversification in El Salvador’s export destinations.
In contrast, the IDB projected a 2.5 percent decline in goods exports to the United States, along with a 12.8 percent drop to Asia excluding China and a 4.7 percent decrease specifically to China. Despite these challenges, the report emphasized that “plastics and their manufactures, coffee, and meat preparations explained the increase” in overall exports.
Final 2025 foreign trade figures will be released on January 27, when El Salvador’s Central Reserve Bank publishes its official report, alongside data on family remittances. Between January and November, exports totaled $6.217 billion, already reflecting a 3.7 percent increase, reinforcing expectations of a positive close to the year.