After decreases were reported in 2015 and 2016, last year the country raised $11 billion in sales abroad, 5% more than in 2016.
In 2017, sales abroad improved significantly compared to the previous year, rising from $10.449 billion in 2016 to $11 billion in 2017, which represents an increase of 5.3%.
The president of the Bank of Guatemala (Banguat), Sergio Recinos, explained to Elperiodico.com.gt that "... the recovery is associated with improvements in products such as clothing, cardamom, bananas, coffee, fats and oils, iron and oils, rubber, cereals, paper manufactures, petrol and aluminum, among other things."
In the past three years exports of nontraditional products have seen an increase of $900 million.
The head of the ministry of economy, Armando Flores, on the occasion of the presentation of the Accountability Report noted that in the last year alone the increase has been $290 million.
Meanwhile foreign sales of traditional products in the last three years increased by $1 million.
The country sold $4,578 million worth of goods abroad in the first 5 months of the year, 26.8% more than in the same period in 2010.
According to officials from the Bank of Guatemala, the increase is mainly explained by the increase in the price of commodities, especially sugar, bananas, coffee and cardamom oil.
In general, higher export volumes were also reported, sugar being the main exception, due to lower production.
Foreign sales grew by 28% in the first quarter compared to the same period of 2010.
The high prices of commodities in international markets is one reason behind the increase in exports in Guatemala.
In total, the country exported more than $2700 million in the first three months of the year. In the case of traditional products such as sugar, bananas, coffee and cardamom, the increase was 33%, making total sales more than $954.9 million.
Exports of nontraditional products are growing at a faster pace than exports of traditional ones (coffee, banana, cardamom and sugar).
In 2009 total exports summed $7.23 billion. Of them, $5.41 billion corresponded to nontraditional goods (74.9%).
“Data from Banguat shows that in 1980 the country exported $1.52 billion, of which $633 million were traditional goods and $886.4 million were nontraditional ones (58.3%)”, reported Sigloxxi.com.
The non-traditional products sector closed 2008 with $2.9 billion in exports.
According to the article published by the Prensa Libre daily, "...the chemical subsector is in first place with $900 million in exports, followed by food at $275 million, and construction materials at $208 million and then plastics at $138.4 million."
It is expected that in 2009 Guatemala will have many opportunities to get low volume order in specialized markets, especially in Mexico and the United States.