Browse Data and Analysis

FAS/Managua projects MY 2025/26 sugar production to reach 840,000 metric tons, up ten percent from MY 2024/25, assuming a more balanced rainy season and an increase in sugarcane plantations.

Sugar production and exports in Honduras are expected to increase in MY 2025/26, driven by higher yields, expanded harvest areas, and greater investment.

Sugar production and exports are projected slightly up in marketing year (MY) 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025) because of the increase in productivity yields, harvested area, and additional investments made in the sugar sector and increased exports.

In 2023, the United States held a 29.1 percent share of the consumer-oriented food and beverage market in Honduras, a slight decrease of 1.3 percent from 2022.

Record-high remittances continue to boost consumer spending in 2024. U.S. agricultural exports to Nicaragua through September 2024 are up four percent compared to the same period in 2023.

Honduras has made no modifications to its existing regulatory framework regarding genetically engineered (GE) crops. As of October 2024, planted area of GE corn in Honduras has increased by 29 percent from the previous year, rising from 52,000 to 67,000 hectares. In 2024, the National Committee on Biotechnology and Biosecurity approved six events.

In June 2024, the Nicaraguan Institute of Agricultural Protection and Health (IPSA) issued an executive resolution to strengthen the risk mitigation measures for the monitoring and testing of GE grains.

The National Plant, Animal Health and Food Safety Service (SENASA) is the regulatory agency in Honduras that is responsible for the inspection of all agricultural products that enter the country.

SENASA and ARSA have made significant progress in expediting import procedures with the introduction of online options for requesting import permits and sanitary authorizations of imported raw materials that provide immediate electronic delivery to ports of entry.

Consumer trends in Nicaragua are shifting towards modern retail channels as remittance flows increase. Supermarkets are expanding rapidly, with one grocery store chain opening eight new locations in 2024.

In 2023, Honduras’s consumer-oriented imports from the United States reached $553 million, making it the second-largest importer in Central America, after Guatemala.

This report provides information on export certification requirements for U.S. food and agricultural exports to Nicaragua. There were no significant changes to required export certificates since the 2023 report.