Guatemala and Mexico are the only countries in the region to have reduced their foreign sales in the current coffee year.
El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, The Dominican Republic, Colombia and Peru together increased by 17.7% sales in exported coffee beans in the current coffee year, which began in October 2010.
The National Coffee Association of Guatemala (Anacafe) has released sales figures for the major grain exporters in Latin America, who collectively (except Mexico and Guatemala), sold 6,121,654 sixty kilo bags from October to April this year.
In the first 5 months of the year, exports amounted to $1,000 million.
The favorable international market helped boost growth in sales outside of Nicaragua, in the first five months of the year alone they went up by 33% compared to the same period in 2010.
The main reason behind the increase is not greater export volume, but the rise in international prices, which has allowed the country to sell more products at greater expense.
In 2010 the country's food exports from the north to the isthmus increased by 25%.
Product sales from Mexico to the Central American countries totaled more than $644 million last year, far exceeding the previous year's figures.
This significant increase has led to an improvement in the results of the trade balance, growth from sales in recent years has generated a trade surplus that has reversed the previous downward trend.
The country's principal markets are South Korea, Japan, the Republic of China Taiwan with which it has had free trade agreement (FTA) since 2008
In the first three months of 2011 exports totaled $46.7 million, 46% more than in the same period of 2010.
Supported by the FTA, Nicaragua has sold Asian markets a total of $12 million worth of products in the first quarter of 2011, according to a report by the country's Center for Export Prodedures (Cetrex).
So far the country has exported $ 608 million, 30% higher than the $ 462 million over the same period of 2010.
If the export pace continues, the director of the Center for Export Procedures (CETREX), Jorge Molina, stated the country can total up to $ 2.500 million by the of 2011.
"This would be a record for Nicaragua which is considered the second poorest country in the continent, second only to Haiti," reported the article in Laprensagrafica.com.
On the first 5 months of the current harvest, the country exported $153.8 million, 79.4% more than the $ 85.7 million sold in the the same period of the previous harvest.
According to information from the Center for Export Procedures (CETREX), Nicarague shipped 753,574 45kg bags, 22.7% more than in the same period the previous year.
"The source also noted that during the first five months of the current crop price per quintal of coffee -45 kilos - averaged U.S. $ 204.13, while in the same period of the 2009-2010 harvest, the price was quoted at U.S. $ 139.51,” reported the article at Prensalibre.com.
Over the first two months of 2011, exports increased 38% over the same period of 2010.
In January and February 2011 total exports amounted to $ 388.5 million compared to $ 280.9 million in 2010.
The Center for Export Procedures (CETREX), "... reported, however, a decrease of 6.2 percent in the export volume during the first two months of 2011 over the same period last year," reported EFE.
The combined exports of the 9 Latin American exporting countries have increased by 23.17% over the first four months of the current crop.
Between October 2010 and January 2011, exports from Costa Rica, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Peru, Mexico, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic totaled 7.901.259 60 kilos coffee bags.
According to the National Coffee Association (Anacafe) of Guatemala, "during that period only Guatemala and Mexico lowered their exports, with declines of 3.92% and 25.60%, respectively, compared to January 2010, reports EFE.
In 2010, Nicaraguan textile companies operating from free zones shipped a record figure of $1,018 million.
According to Anitec, the association which represents these companies, the figure implies a 14% increase when compared to 2009 and a 8% increase if measured up against 2008 (formerly considered the best year ever).
As to volumes, last year they shipped 362.87 million square meters of textile products, 17.7% more than 2009 and 9.7% more than 2008, reported Laprensa.com.ni.
During the first quarter of the 2010-2011 harvest season, the value of coffee exports rose 50.3% over the same period of the previous year.
The Center for Export Procedures (CETREX) reported that coffee exports from October to December 2010 totaled $ 43.9 million, while from October to December 2009, exports sumemd $ 29.2 million.
"The government agency said that during the reference period exports totals 232,817 quintals of coffee (45.45 kilos bags), compared to 215,442 quintals of coffee in the same period a year earlier, which means 8.06 percent," reported Canal15.com.ni.
During the last three months of 2010, the combined exports of the group of 9 Latin American countries rose 22.54%.
The combined exports of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Colombia and Peru, between the months of October and December of last year totaled 5.405.538 60 kilo bags.
The National Coffee Association of Guatemala (Anacafe) said that "This figure is higher by 22.54% to the 4.411.322 million bags exported by the group of Latin American countries during the last quarter of 2009," EFE reported.
In 2010 it exported 218 million pounds, 33 million more than in 2009.
Alfredo Velez, corporate vice president of Tip Top Industries, said the sector is expected to grow 10% this year.
He added, "Exports to Venezuela are in the process of closing since so far we have completed the technical analysis and logistics, once this agreement is complete, it will take three months to start shipments to that market because the chicken which goes to Venezuela will be an additional production above the local production."
Exporters project an increase of $ 300 million for this year compared to 2010.
The director of the Export Procedures Center (CETREX), Jorge Molina, said the projected increase for this year is based on the average growth of the past seven years, which was 15%.
"In 2010, according to preliminary data CETREX published on its website, the value of exports was 1,920.06 million dollars, 450 million Dollars more than in 2009, year in which exports declined compared to 2008," reports Laprensa.com.ni.
Sales abroad from the region closed with a 10.5% increase for 2010 in comparison to 2009.
According to the Central American Economic Integration Department, exports from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua totaled $ 22,187.2 million at the end of 2010, 10.5% higher than the $ 19,863, 8 million of 2009.