Explained by the performance of private consumption and gross investment, during the first three months of the year the Gross Domestic Product registered an increase of 3.4%.
The Central Reserve Bank reported that "... During the first quarter of the year, the Salvadoran economy grew at a rate of 3.4% due to a significant boost in domestic demand favored by higher private consumption and gross investment, while external demand benefited from thegood performance of the global economy, mainly from the United States and the region's main trading partners."
Manufacturing and Commerce, were the sectors that most influenced the year-on-year growth of 3.1% registered during the first quarter of the year.
From a statement issued by Banco Central de Honduras:
The overall result of the GDPT - seasonally adjusted - during the first quarter of 2018 compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 was 0.9% higher, mainly explained by an increase in external demand.
Financial Intermediation and Public Administration, were the sectors that most influenced the annual growth of almost 5% registered during the past year.
From a report by the Central Bank of Honduras:
In the last quarter of 2017, the national economic activity measured with the Quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDPT) showed a quarterly increase of 0.1%, the effect of a combination of both internal and external unfavorable factors; meanwhile, it stood at 3.6% year-on-year (compared to the same quarter of 2016), both variations measured with the seasonally adjusted series of GDPT at constant prices.
After an 11% reduction in the output between 2015 and 2016, last year production totaled 9,641 million barrels, 7% more than the figures in 2016.
Due to the age of the wells operated by the company Perenco, according to figures from the Ministry of Energy and Mines, the national production of crude oil between 2010 and 2017 "...
The increase in production to 24,500 tons and rising international prices took revenues from this category from $74 million to $150 million in three years.
In the last ten years Nicaragua has made progress in the modernization of production of farmed shrimp and improved the processes of industrialization, reaching a production of 24,500 tons in 2013. It is currently the second largest Central American producer, second only to Honduras which produced 28,900 tons in 2013.
The Monte Rosa mill will invest $100 million in a new boiler to increase the amount of power generated from bagasse from 32 to 55 MW .
The mill plans to increase the amount of energy generated based on sugar cane waste by investing in a new boiler. With this extra power, the company aims to supply about 10% of domestic demand.
"That will require an additional investment of about a hundred million dollars to install a new boiler that will allow us to grow from 6.3 million to 7.3 quintals of sugar per harvest. But the most important thing is not more sugar, but to generate more energy. We want to deliver 55 megawatt hours of clean renewable energy and have the ability to generate all year round, not just during the harvest ", said Bernardo Chamorro, general manager of Monte Rosa in an article on Laprensa.com.ni .
Companies from the sector are consolidating their operations in plants in order to improve production efficiency.
The President of the Honduran Maquila Association, Daniel Facussé, announced that the purpose of the relocation is to become more competitive, following a system already used in other companies in different sectors.
Moreover he added that "the aim is not to have plants scattered all over, but rather to have them all in one place, because it is much more economical for production"
Although it is well known that there has been an increase in GDP in recent years, productivity has fallen by 0.4% a year.
Nicaragua's productivity has declined by 0.4% each year for two decades, while the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown by 4.02%. According to an economic bulletin by ECOVISION, if the productivity of Nicaragua is compared with some economies in America and Europe, the country ranks second to last, only one position above Venezuela.
On its way to regaining first place in Central America as a producer of grain, Honduras cultivated 4.400 hectares in 2013, quadruple the amount cultivated in 2010.
"We had 1,000 acres in production in 2010 and now we have about 4,400 and we expect that figure to continue growing," said Jacobo Regalado, chief of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG).
In contrast to the forecasts of reduced fish resources, an increase in production of mollusk in the region has been projected.
In the region there are about 150 thousand artisanal fishermen of which about 2,500 are devoted to the cultivation of oysters, especially in Costa Rica and El Salvador. Although it is a small amount the Organization of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Central America (OSPESCA) argues that the idea is to create a new alternative.
During 2012 peanut sales abroad totaled $133 million, nearly four times the amount of 10 years ago.
Nicaragua produces three million pounds of peanuts per year, with the region of Chinandega controling 60% of industrialized production and 90% of the grain that is exported.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (Magfor) in the last ten years this has been the best performing export product.
At the end of the 2012-13 total production from the harvest was 60.049 million quintals of sugar, which is 2,782,000 metric tons.
The harvest that has just concluded, grew by 11% compared to the period 2011-12, when the production reached 54.033 million quintals (2,499,000 metric tons).
According to Armando Boesche, general manager of the Sugar Association of Guatemala (Asazgua), climatic conditions during the last six months "were appropriate, as there were more daylight hours in the time of greatest growth for sugarcane" .
Small construction and packaging manufacturers are the companies that sell to large multinationals, through so-called productive chaining.
According to the director of the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (Procomer) Rolando Dobles, this level of chaining is the most basic form and is what normally occurs in any economy, being far from the chainings which result in more elaborated products .
The sugar sector exceeded its production goals for the 2012/13 season, closing with 16.8 million quintals of sugar, 12% more than in the previous harvest.
"The sector is counting on productivity, for which the mills with cane growers have invested in new technologies and farming methods in order to increase efficiency and productivity," said Mario Salaverria, president of the Sugar Association (AESA ).
Productivity has been increased through a continuous production system and added to the production of sugar are alcohols, ethanol, molasses and electricity.
While India and Mexico (largest sugar producers in the world), have opted to reduce consumption areas for sugarcane cultivation due to a fall in prices, Nicaragua is to establish a new record to produce up to 15.5 million quintals in the 2012-2013 harvest which ends in the coming weeks.
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