Honduras: A Developing Market for U.S. Pork

Monthly Market Highlight

The United States has been a primary trading partner of Honduras for years, but economic growth in the Central American nation has allowed for an increase in export opportunities. The growth of the food processing industry, as well as development in the hotel, restaurant, and retail sectors have created more demand for U.S. agricultural products. Thanks to the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), trade with Honduras is accessible, and tariffs are limited. Duties on pork still range from 2-7% depending on product and quota, but all tariffs are scheduled to be phased out by 2020. Pork exports to Honduras totaled 67.6 million pounds in 2018, which is a 10% increase from 2017. Export value also rose 8% to $59 million in 2018.

 

 

 

Honduras is a Central American country that borders the Caribbean Sea and North Pacific Ocean as well as the nations of Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Honduras is slightly larger than the state of Tennessee with over 43,000 square miles of total area. The climate is subtropical in Honduran lowlands and temperate in mountainous regions. The population of Honduras was measured at 9.2 million in 2018 with most of the population distributed between the capital city of Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula. According to the CIA World Factbook, only 3.9 million Hondurans are economically active. Honduras is ranked 30th among U.S. agricultural export markets and accounted for $713 million in U.S. exports in 2018. Over the past decade, exports have grown 40% and continue to trend upward.

 

 

 

Like many other Central American countries, Honduras ranks relatively low in terms of meat consumption per capita. Among top U.S. pork markets, Honduras ranks behind only Guatemala for lowest per capita pork consumption. However, as pork consumption has increased over the past ten years, production has declined. This growing gap presents an opportunity for the U.S. industry to supply greater volumes of pork to Honduras. Poultry is the leader in both consumption, and production in Honduras and is the only animal protein to see increases in production over the past decade.