The trade union confirmed that some entrepreneurs exported by air for obstacles in the port of Acajutla or because they had to send goods urgently.
The El Salvador Export Corporation (Coexport) expects air shipments, which are up to 300 per cent more expensive than land shipments, to grow at the close of 2024.
The demand for services is already noticeable in the first seven months of the year, with a growth of 27.1% after exceeding 9.4 million kilograms sent through the air terminal of El Salvador International Airport, according to records of the Autonomous Port Executive Commission (CEPA).
Coexport President Silvia Cuéllar said the trend is seen, due to times, related to the urgency of mobilizing the merchandise towards its destination by the Salvadoran entrepreneurs.
Cuéllar points out that the goods exported by air include frozen or refrigerated perishable products, as well as maquila items.
“I do (exports are going to be kept positive by air) because there are things that are needed urgently and it needs to be shipped by air, said the president of Coexport.
The spokeswoman for the exporters said she has received reports from entrepreneurs who made the decision to send their goods by air because they had delays in the Port of Acajutla, Sonsonate.
Entrepreneurs have consistently highlighted that the Port of Acajutla is saturated. Following the $1.615 million investment announcement by the Turkish company Yilport, the sector expects more competitiveness to be generated.
According to Coexport, sending merchandise by air can be twice as much or triple the most expensive when entrepreneurs decide to export it by land.
El Salvador International Airport is the only exit and entry gateway for the goods marketed through the airway.
According to ECA, from Ilopango International Airport, it reveals that the latter did not mobilize a kilogram of merchandise in the first seven months of the year. The government has confirmed that the air terminal is used for military aviation, private flights and tourism.
Projections
Exports of Salvadoran goods in general have varied in volume over the course of the year.
The 2024 started with positive results, in the first month of the year exports rose by 1.6% in amounts sent and 23.4 per cent in the volume marketed.
However, since February the downward trend began and, for the first quarter of the year, the amounts shipped decreased by 13.7 % and the volume fell by 11.3 per cent, closing with $1,544,9 million exported in 926.2 million kilograms.
From April, the volume of products began to increase, but to be sold at a lower price.
From January to July, El Salvador exported $3,783.8 million in goods that had a volume of 2,153.2 million kilograms. This meant that 1.8 % more product was sold but with a lower price, as the shipping amount fell by 5.6 % compared to 2023.
Cuéllar recalled that orders placed in 2022 were mostly in customers’ wineries, impacting on the fall in consumer purchases since 2023.
“Then that made us go up and then go down to the average levels we had, which is not what we want, what we want is to increase,” Coexport’s spokeswoman added.
The Corporation noted that entrepreneurs are studying the demand for markets and the type of garments that customers may be interested in.
Exporters expect that the value of products can be increased so far in the year so that exports do not close negative.
This article has been translated after first appearing in Diario El Mundo