Agriculture employs most of the country’s workforce and focuses especially on growing bananas, the nation’s major export and revenue source. Other important crops for exporting purposes are coffee, tobacco and coconuts.A self-sufficiency agriculture is practiced on hillsides and lowland in the country’s eastern region, coupled with fishing and tree felling. A bigger role from an economic standpoint is played by the northern region whose lowlands yield a fair amount of banana, sugar cane, corn, palm and beans. Stock breeding, pigs, lambs and fowls are commonplace all around.The central high valleys are equally fertile for such crops as coffee, tobacco, wheat, thyme, fruits and vegetables, as well as for raising horses and cattle. Volcanic and rainy soils, as well as the Pacific lowlands, produce sesame seeds, cotton and small amounts of cereals. On the other hand, a considerable chunk of the territory is covered by huge forests that offer great chances for commercial purposes. Mahogany is the kind of wood that provides the largest volumes of exports in this respect.
Exports are estimated in the neighborhood of $814 million, with major slots reserved for bananas and coffee –the two most profitable rubles so far. The nation equally exports frozen meats, wood, logs, shellfish, tobacco, sugar cane, cement, forest products, and minerals like lead and zinc.
Imports have increased rapidly, reaching over $1 billion, with the greatest jack-up in raw materials and financial assets.The country also imports oils, fuels, chemicals, foodstuffs, machinery and means of transportation.
Honduras’s industry has developed at a white-heat pace with the production of such items as cement, sugar cane and wood for export. Fabrics, detergents, chemicals, light metals, beverages and foodstuffs are made only for domestic consumption. All major industrial areas are located near the capital, close to the city of San Pedro Sula and the free-trade zone in Puerto Cortes. Travelers will find mom-and-pop business outlets galore, all featuring low-tech equipment and a limited amount of resources.The country’s mineral resources, poorly tapped into, include iron ore, coal, mercury and copper. Lime, zinc, marble, salt, lead, gold and silver rank among the nation’s major productions, as well as foodstuffs, cement, iron ore, steel, wood, beverages, fabrics and paper.
The Honduran economy suffers from such structural problems as a single-crop agriculture, a heavy dependence on primary exports and lack of industrialization, three elements that combine for a much serious impact in times of crisis.Among its major economic rubles, stock breeding and such crops as banana, fruits, coffee, sugar cane, corn, beans and other foodstuffs stand out. On the eastern hillsides and lowlands, a self-sufficiency agriculture, combined with fishing and wood felling, is practiced. Mining is another element that has developed in strides, especially as far as the production of cement, sugar cane, iron ore, steel, foodstuffs and fabrics are concerned. Foreign trade is basically carried out with the U.S., Germany, Japan, Venezuela, Mexico and Costa Rica. Tourism is run by Honduran Travel Associations based in San Pedro Sula. Among some of the country’s top archeological and tourist attractions, travelers will find the Ruins of Copan –one of the major cities back in the old days of the Mayan Empire- the Yojoa Lake, a suitable location for fishing and boating, the beaches on the islands of the Bay and the nation’s northern coastline. In 1993, the number of visitors rose to 561,917 in all.
Honduras’s rugged relieve favors the development of roads rather than railroads. In 1992, there were a grand total of 12,033 kilometers of roads –25.9% of those were paved. One of the major roads is the Pan American Highway that snakes its ways along the southern part of the country from the Salvadoran border to the frontier with Nicaragua, as well as the Inter Oceanic Road, covering the central valley that back in the 19th century had been laid out as the perfect location for the national railroad service. This 335-km-long road links Puerto Cortes and Amapala through San Pedro Sula, Comayagua and Tegucigalpa. Other important routes are those connecting San Pedro Sula with Copan y and the one stretching out from Tegucigalpa all the way to the department of Olancho.The length of railroad lines back in 1989 reached 1,139 kilometers, starting off from Puerto Cortes to Higuerito, Potrerillo, through San Pedro Sula. This 254-km-long railroad line, once devised as the embryo of the inter oceanic train, carries both passengers and cargo and is entirely run by the government. Other railroad services are those of the banana industry, especially built to transport that particular crop to the loading piers. One case in point is the Standard Fruit Service from Baracoa to San Lorenzo through Tela, La Ceiba, Olanchito and Coyoles Central. The total reach is 1,577 km of main lines plus the branched-out ways.As to air transportation, there are international airports in Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba. The latter is the country’s most important terminal as far as tourism is concerned. As to the national network, there’re dirt-runway and paved-tarmac air fields along the Atlantic coastline and closely linked to the area’s plantations. Domestic flights are operated by ANHSA (Aerovías Nacionales de Honduras, S. A.), while internal and international flights are covered by SAHSA (Servicio Aéreo de Honduras, S. A.) and TAN (Transportes Aéreos Nacionales).The Honduran port infrastructure is marked by the facilities in Puerto Cortes up in the north. Other major northern ports and harbors like Tela and La Ceiba, are used for banana exporting operations and the necessary linkage with the Islands of the Bay, as well as serving as a base for fishermen. In the southern region of the country, the historic Amapala port has given way to the Henecan Port (San Lorenzo). Other minor harbors are Roatan, Utila, French Harbor and Guanaja, good for cargo shipments. All ports are controlled by the National Enterprise of Ports and Harbors.
Honduras - Panama: Free Trade and Favorable Exchange AgreementACS (Association of Caribbean States)Honduras – Dominican Republic: Free Trade AgreementMCCA: Central American Common MarketBilateral Investment Agreements with Chile and the United States.
