Nicaragua's Exports Continue to Increase

Aug. 9, 2012 - The Nicaraguan Center for Export Procedures (Cetrex for its acronym in Spanish) estimates the country will export around US$2.7 billion in 2012, if the calculation is correct, this would represent a 15 percent increase when compared to 2011.

The Nicaraguan Center for Export Procedures (Cetrex for its acronym in Spanish) estimates the country will export around US$2.7 billion in 2012 after registering US$1.645 billion in exports during the first semester. According to the Director of Cetrex, Jorge Molina, if the calculation is correct, this would represent a 15 percent increase when compared to 2011.

Regarding volume, until July 31, Nicaragua had sent abroad 1.14 million tons, 240,000 tons more than 2011, representing a growth of 15.35 percent. 

This overall rise is due to the increase of international prices of some products like peanuts, coffee, sugarcane and beef, and the increase in volume in a few products like sugarcane, which grew 40 percent compared to last year.

According to Molina, “internal factors have also been key for this success: the stability of the country, the search for dialogue and consensus between government, private sector and workers, and safety, which are essential for the development of any nation”.

It’s important to highlight the predicted US$2.7 billion does not include free zone exports, which last year reached more than US$2 billion.

For Molina, the challenge of the next five years will be to reach US$5 billion, “for this to happen, we have to expand and diversify the Nicaraguan market, we have to add value to our products, specifically our agricultural products, we need better technology and a superior understanding of the market.” 

In 2011, Nicaraguan exports reached US$2.264 billion, increasing by 22.3 percent when compared to 2010, which was the highest growth rate in FOB exports in the region. The country’s main export products (in terms of volume) were sugar, beef, coffee, peanuts, dairy and black beans.

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