CENTRAL AMERICAN PORTS STATISTICAL SUMMARY, YEAR2019 1.2
Foreign trade and port traffic
Foreign trade cargo handled in the Central American region in 2019 totaled 110.13 billion American dollars which is equivalent to 113.0 billion MT showing a 3% decrease when compared with 2018 figures while cargo volume experienced a 22% increase. Imports represented 72% of the total value of foreign trade cargo handled while in terms of volume they totaled 70%. On the other hand, exports represented 28% of the value, and 30% in terms of volume. Regarding volume of foreign trade cargo handled at regional level during the period under review, Guatemala represented 29%, Panama 27%, Costa Rica 14%, Honduras 13%, El Salvador 12%, and Nicaragua 7%. Table 3 shows foreign trade figures for each country in the region in both value and volume, including volume of sea freight handled by each country in the Central American region. It is worth mentioning that foreign trade volumes shown in Table 3 also include cargo carried by air and land; however, they do not include re-importations, free trade zones or inward processing relief. Table 3 Central America: Value and volume of foreign trade vs maritime cargo by countries, (Millions US dollar y thousands MT), Year 2019 Country
Value of foreign trade Millions of US$ IMP. (CIF) EXP. (FOB) TOTAL
Volume of foreign trade Thousands of metric tons IMP. EXP. TOTAL
Maritime cargo volume Thousands of metric tons D E T
Guatemala
19,881.35
11,183.95
31,065.30
20,164.44
12,809.74
32,974.18
17,184.60
8,847.29
26,031.89
El Salvador
12,017.56
5,943.32
17,960.88
10,203.04
3,178.06
13,381.10
5,510.26
1,047.51
6,557.77
Honduras
10,054.89
4,165.49
14,220.39
9,182.80
5,110.05
14,292.85
7,635.70
3,933.31
11,569.01
Nicaragua
4,722.90
2,671.30
7,394.20
4,602.71
1,978.36
6,581.08
3,310.79
1,452.97
4,763.76
Costa Rica
14,018.99
4,989.02
19,008.01
9,435.56
6,285.20
15,720.76
8,570.28
4,845.24
13,415.52
Panama
18,345.42
2,140.16
20,485.58
25,672.91
4,461.79
30,134.70
11,104.41
3,396.02
14,500.43
Total
79,041.12
31,093.25 110,134.36
79,261.46
33,823.19 113,084.65
53,316.04
23,522.33
76,838.37
Source: Central American Ports and Panama Maritime Authority Guatemala: http://www.banguat.gob.gt/estaeco/ceie/mensualnr_xls.asp?kanio=2017&kfin=0&ktipo=CG El Salvador: http://www.bcr.gob.sv/bcrsite/?cat=1012&lang=es Honduras: https://see.bch.hn/SICE/ConsultaSACAjustado.aspx Nicaragua: http://www.sec.sieca.int Costa Rica: http://sistemas.inec.cr/SICCE_Hacienda/SICCE_Hacienda/ Panamá: http://www.contraloria.gob.pa/inec/ComercioExterior/
In Central America, 68% of foreign trade cargo in the region was handled through maritime transport. In the case of Costa Rica, it was observed that it is leading the way on the use of its port system for foreign trade cargo with 85%, followed by Honduras and Guatemala by 81% and 79% respectively. On the other hand, 72% of Nicaragua foreign trade was handled through its ports while this percentage represented 49% in El Salvador and 48% in Panama.
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