Trade Opportunities

Transportation Hub of Central America

With its strategic location in the heart of Central America, Honduras is a key distribution centre, offering the lowest logistical costs in region. The Puerto Cortes port, located on the Caribbean coast, is Central America’s largest and most efficient port. Honduras also offers five cargo airlines with international airports stationed in the cities of Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, La Ceiba and Roatan. In 2014 Honduras was the 95^th largest exporter and the 105^th largest importer in the world. Also in 2014, Honduras exported 117 products with comparative advantage, (meaning that its share of global exports is larger than what would be expected from the size of its export economy and from the size of a product’s global market).

New Trade Agreement, New Opportunities

The Canada-Honduras Free Trade Agreement which entered into the force on October 1 2014 offers a unique opportunity for Canadians businesses to tap into the wide array of industries that Honduras has to offer. While the country remains heavily dependent on the United States, which receives 54% of Honduran exports, Canadian imports from Honduras are on the rise at an average growth of 14% from 2009-2012. Bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Honduras reached $289.75 million in 2014, which is an additional increase of 4% over 2013. Under the new trade agreement, trade between the two countries has substantially increased and the commercial relations have strengthened. Honduras is one of Canadas main focuses for international development assistance and receives Canada’s largest bilateral development program in Central America. Canadian businesses and workers have benefited in many regions across the country particularly in the focus areas of agriculture, professional services, value added food processing and manufacturing, as well as commodity- and resource-based industries.

2015 marks Canada’s 25^th year as a full member of the Organization of American States (OAS). The OAS is a principal multilateral forum in the region which serves as a site for cooperation with hemispheric partners. Being a member of the OAS has allowed Canada to deepen its relations with Latin America and the Caribbean at various levels.
A Long History of Quality Agricultural Products

Honduras is among the top 10 world exporters of bananas and coffee, reflecting the country’s long history in these two sectors. Coffee, which is Honduras’ number one export, has experienced a growing demand in Canadian markets. Honduras is also the 5^th largest exporter of bananas to Canada, with total export value reaching $910 million in 2014. The agricultural industry also plays a major role as a source of employment in Honduras and is therefore important to decrease unemployment and reduce poverty.

 

Honduras offers an array of other agricultural products in fresh fruits, vegetables, and increasingly fish/seafood. Top agricultural products include, coffee (47 percent), shrimps (21 percent), bananas (11 percent), melon (7 percent), lobsters (6 percent) and pineapples (3 percent). Honduras also sits among the top 10 producers of palm oil and is enjoying increasing sales of coconut oil from an increasing global awareness on the many benefits of this product. In 2015 Canadian top imports from Honduras consisted of insulated electronic conductors, knitted t-shirts and sweaters, bananas, melons, papayas, watermelons, and fresh, chilled or frozen fish.

 

High Growth Exports: Apparel, Sugar and Electronic Cables

Following efforts by the Honduran government to diversify its export dependence from commodity items, Honduras has become a major player on the international scene for apparel and garment. The country is now one of Canada’s primary sources of woven and knit apparel from Latin America, with export sales reaching $46 million in 2015. Bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Honduras reached $289.75 million in 2014

Two of the fastest emerging sectors for Canadian imports from Honduras have occurred in sugar and electronic cables. In 2013 there was a substantial boom in imports of sugar and sugar confectionary to Canada, increasing from a few thousand dollars in export sales to $8.4 million in a single year, in 2015 specifically raw sugar alone in Honduras had an export value of $74.3 million. Honduras has also become Canada’s number one source for electronic cables in Latin America, Canadian imports of electrical cables from the country reached $59 million in 2015.