Growth was not enough to reverse the sharp falls in the previous months and exports accumulate a contraction of 5.6% in the first seven months.
Exports of goods produced by Salvadorans registered a tenuous growth of 1 % in July only after two consecutive months of contraction, the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) reported yesterday.
Growth was not enough to reverse the negative results of the first semester and exports accumulate a contraction of 5.6%. Between January and July, companies sent shipments valued at $3,783.8 million to the foreign market, at least $224.2 million less compared to the same period in 2023.
Of the first seven months, the BCR reports that there were growths in January, April and July, while in February, March, May and June contractions were recorded.
In July alone, $574.5 million, an additional $5.8 million was exported to the $568.7 million reported in the same month of 2023.
Exporters and industrialists have explained that the contraction in exports is due to lower demand from the United States, El Salvador’s main trading partner, which began in 2023 and will remain at least until the end of 2024.
Imports, meanwhile, closed with a growth of 0.7% in the first seven months, after accumulating $9,132.5 million. The rebound was sustained by increased purchases of consumer goods and capital, while intermediaries and maquila remained negative.
Export destinations
21 of the 49 main trading partners had contraction in exports to July.
The United States, where 34.25% of shipments are directed, demanded fewer Salvadoran products and closed with a fall of 11 percent ($160.3 million), after accumulating $1,298.7 million.
From Central America, Guatemala is the main partner, where exports grew 1.4 percent with shipments valued at $725.7 million, while, to Honduras, the second largest destination in the region, it demanded 7.6 percent less Salvadoran goods with purchases that amounted to $582.5 million.
In July, there were year-on-year growths that stood out in the ranking prepared by the BCR, as 536.4 % to China, but with exports amounting to $47.1 million, or the Philippines with a rebound of 122,233 % with shipments valued at $8.9 million.
El Salvador’s main export product was T-shirts, with $365.8 million accumulated in July and equivalent to a drop of 14.4 percent. The sweaters also contracted 26.4 percent and reached shipments for $222.2 million.
Top of 5 most exported products
Accumulated fores between January and July.
- T-shirts and T-shirts: $365.8 million (-14.4 percent)
- Sweaters: $222.2 million (-26.4 percent)
- Cane sugar: $217.77 (1.1 %)
- Items for transport or packaging of plastic: $179.9 million (3.3 per cent)
- Hygienic paper: $116.3 million (-15.3 percent)
This article has been translated after first appearing in Diario El Mundo