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Salvadoran exports registered slight growth in april 2016 compared to march of the same year, driven mainly by the strong increase in the cane sugar and other sugars sector, which became the best-performing sector of the month, according to data from the Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador (BCR).
According to official figures, the sugar sector went from exporting US$20.78 million in march to US$76.19 million in april, representing an increase of 266.8%, the largest growth among all economic activities recorded during the period.
The BCR detailed that this performance was the main driver of the monthly increase in the country’s total exports, which rose from US$582.61 million in march to US$584.39 million in april 2016. The difference was US$1.78 million, equivalent to a growth of 0.3%.
After the sugar sector, the second largest contributor to export growth was manufacturing. This sector increased from US$470.33 million in march to US$481.22 million in april, reflecting a 2.3% rise.
Other sectors also reported increases during april. The electricity, gas, steam, and air conditioning supply sector grew from US$1.65 million to US$2.07 million, equivalent to 25.5%.
Similarly, mining and quarrying increased from US$0.07 million to US$0.12 million, registering a 71.4% growth, while wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles advanced from US$0.72 million to US$0.93 million, a 29.2% increase.
However, other sectors experienced declines in their exports during april. Agriculture, livestock, forestry, and fishing decreased from US$30.30 million in march to US$28.59 million in april, representing a 5.6% drop.
Within this sector, green coffee and other unprocessed coffees fell from US$24.87 million to US$24.54 million, a 1.3% reduction. Meanwhile, the remaining agricultural products declined from US$5.42 million to US$4.05 million, equivalent to a 25.3% decrease.
The Maquila Manufacturing Industry also experienced a significant decline. This sector fell from US$79.54 million in march to US$71.46 million in april, reflecting a 10.2% drop.
According to the Banco Central de Reserva de El Salvador (BCR) breakdown, maquila of other products decreased from US$42.09 million to US$33.76 million, a reduction of 19.8%, while maquila of textile products fell from US$7.13 million to US$6.98 million, a decrease of 2.1%.
The data shows that, although april ended with a positive result for salvadoran exports, the growth was concentrated mainly in the extraordinary performance of sugar, while other sectors presented mixed results and some registered declines compared to march.
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