The organization states that the country has advanced in the process of economic stabilization and has exceeded the quantitative targets set for December 2014, also meeting the benchmarks set for March 2015.
From a press release issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF):
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Mr. Lisandro Ábrego, visited Tegucigalpa during March 9-17 to conduct the first review of Honduras’ Fund-supported program, approved on December 3, 2014. At the conclusion of the visit, Mr. Ábrego issued the following statement in Tegucigalpa today:
Slow growth is projected in El Salvador, very good performance in Nicaragua, stability in Panama, more competition in Guatemala and moderate growth in Costa Rica.
From a report by Fitch Ratings entitled "2015 Perspectives: Central American Banks":
Costa Rica:
Fitch Ratings has revised the outlook for the sector from positive to stable, because the agency does not anticipate substantial improvements in respect to the previous year.
Fitch Ratings expects moderate growth in premiums in Costa Rica, increased interest in personal insurance in Guatemala, and stable performance in Nicaragua and Honduras.
From the report "Outlook 2015: Central American Insurance Sector":
Costa Rica:
Moderate growth in premiums
Since the Costa Rican insurance industry opened up to private competition in 2008, the market has experienced rapid and consistent growth in premiums.
A survey carried out by CID-Gallup on the perceptions of Central Americans regarding the direction of their countries shows pessimism in Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Honduras.
From a statement issued by CID-Gallup:
The Dominican Republic, Panama and Nicaragua are the nations in the region with the best direction for the country.
This is the result of a series of public opinion surveys that CID / Gallup Latin America carries out every year in September in Central America and the Dominican Republic. The survey has a minimum reach of 1200 households and is a representative sample of the national population.
The US Department of Agriculture projects that global production from the 2014/15 harvest will be 475.5 million tons, 1.1 million tons less than the 2013/14 production.
Excerpted from Reportearroz.com:
International Panorama
The USDA has released the information on expectations for the global rice sector for the upcoming 2014-15 campaign. According to records from the USDA, global production of milled rice in 2014-15 will be 475.5 million tons, representing a figure lower than 2013-14, when the total reached 476.1 million tons. The main reason for the decrease is due to a reduction in yield per hectare.
A study by DHL foresees a 10% increase in international e-commerce over the next five years, with China, Mexico and Australia the markets where the greatest growth is expected.
From the study published by DHL:
About the market
According to Euromonitor International, global sales amounted to €616 billion in 2013.
The three best-selling online markets are the U.S., China and Japan.
Projections are that Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua will register the largest deficit of rainfall in the region between August and October.
From a statement issued by the Regional Committee for Water Resources of the Central American Integration System:
XLII Central America Climate Forum
The rain deficit will continue to hit the Central American region in the next three months (August, September and October), concluded yesterday climatologists and meteorologists at the Climate Forum which took place in our country.
It is estimated that in Asia alone demand for the grain will increase between 5% and 9% in the next four to five years, opening up opportunities for high quality cocoa for america producers.
Encouraged by the deficit of about 175,000 tonnes in the last world harvest, the return of traditional consumers in Europe and the United States and increasing consumption in emerging countries, cocoa prices rose by 25% in 2013 and continued to rise in early 2014, reaching a cost per ton of £1,900 ($3.200 U.S. dollars) in London and more than $3,000 in New York.
Fitch Ratings predicts good performance for the sector, but warns of risks such as intense competition in rates, exposure due to natural disasters, and inflation.
Fitch Ratings believes that the insurance industry will perform well in 2014, however, it does not rule the possibility that some factors such as strong competition in rates, exposure to natural disasters, inflation and devaluation of currencies in some countries will continue to exert pressures.
There is an abundance of signs of deterioration of the Honduran state, where the fiscal crisis and the political crisis are feeding off each other.
Roberto Arce's article for AP, published in Laprensa.hn, reviews the events that mark the depth of the institutional crisis, with cessation of salary payments to civil servants and an external public debt which has once again reached $5 billion, after international multilateral banks waived $3.5 billion in 2007.
GDP is expected to grow 3.3% in 2012, supported by strong domestic demand, and inflation should fall to 5.7%.
From the press release by the IMF:
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission visited Honduras during November 26-December 10 to conduct discussions for the 2012 Article IV consultation. The mission met with the Minister of the Presidency María Antonieta de Bográn, Central Bank Governor María Elena Mondragón, Minister of Finance Wilfredo Cerrato, and other senior government officials and representatives of the private sector. At the end of the visit, Lisandro Ábrego, IMF mission chief for Honduras, issued the following statement:
The Central American population will grow by eleven million over the next 15 years, at different rates depending on the country.
Fourth State of the Region Report, Social News:
The Central American population will increase by about eleven million over the next fifteen years while in the last ten years it has increased by almost seven million people.
The Fourth State of the Region Report examines the society, demography, economy, environment, and political integration of the seven Central American countries.
The Fourth State of the Region report is divided into four sections and ten chapters.
The first section is entitled "Regional Overview", and its main purpose is to track recent developments in Central America based on a platform of comprehensive and current indicators.
Fitch Ratings has issued a special report entitled, "Central American Banking: After the Crisis, a Disparate Evolution"
In Fitch's opinion the banks have shown a mixed performance in Central America during the period of the global financial crisis. At the same time, banking systems have dissimilar perspectives on future performance, reflecting different economic growth prospects in the region.