Honduras’ Investment
Climate is Right
for Agribusiness Investment
Honduras in
Brief
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Location:
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About
1,000 miles southwest and only two hours by
air from Miami. Located in the heart of Central
America, Honduras is the second largest country
in the region. |
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Population:
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7,415,000 |
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Language:
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Spanish, but English is used widely. |
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Time Zone:
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Central |
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Currency:
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Lempira, although U.S. dollars
generally are accepted. |
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Honduras offers
Stable investment climate
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- Honduras has had consecutive democratically
elected governments for more than 26 years.
- Honduras has simplified administrative
procedures for setting up businesses, registering
property, and other investment procedures.
- Government policy ensures free competition.
- Honduran investment law guarantees equal
treatment to foreign and national investors.
- The World Bank’s “Doing Business 2008”
business-climate study identified Honduras
as one of the “best reformers of the region.”
- New businesses can be started in 21 days,
the shortest time in Central America, and
the second shortest time in Latin America.
- Honduras has the second highest economic
growth rate in the Central America, averaging
6% annually for the past two years.
- Honduras adopted the Law of Transparency
and Access to Public Information mandating
complete, 100 percent transparency in the
government.
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Diverse agribusiness sector
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- Honduras enjoys a year-round growing season.
- Its climate supports a diverse range
of products including:
- Milk and dairy products
- Fish and shrimp
- A wide variety of fruits and vegetables
- Sugar
- Cocoa
- Coffee
- Honduras is the second largest exporter
of tilapia and cigars to the United States.
- Honduras is one of the top exporters of
oriental vegetables to the United States.
- Agro-industry composes 13.8 percent of
the country’s GDP.
- In 2007, Honduras exports of agricultural
products to the United States reached a
record-breaking $367 million, up from $290
million in 2006.government.
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Skilled workforce
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- The workforce is young, readily available,
and industrious.
- Active workforce is 2.8 million strong.
- 34.9% of the workforce is employed by
agriculture related businesses.
- Literacy rates in the largest cities are
92-94 percent.
- Low cost of labor makes Honduras very
competitive.
- Extensive educational network educates
the population through 1,050 secondary schools
(150 bilingual), 122 technical high schools,
and 30 universities. Honduras has the largest
number of bilingual schools in the region.
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Students can train at world-class agricultural university,
Zamorano
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- Students travel from around the Americas
to study the various aspects of agriculture
and agricultural production at the university.
- Over 35 ministers of agriculture have
graduated from Zamorano.
- Zamorano also provides research assistance
to companies just setting down roots as
well as those already established in the
country.
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Modern infrastructure
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- Honduras boasts four international airports:
Tegucigalpa, the capital; San Pedro Sula,
industrial center; La Ceiba, the door to
the Bay Islands and the Caribbean Coast;
and Roatán, the largest of the Bay Islands.
- An additional airport is planned for Copán.
Continental, Delta, and American Airlines
offer direct air service from the United
States, as does TACA.
- Hotel Brands in Honduras include Marriott,
Hilton, Intercontinental, Crowne Plaza,
and Clarion.
- Honduras is connected to the world by
three of the most advanced telecommunications
networks in the region: Energia I, Maya
1 and Arcos.
- The network guarantees redundancy of 99.9875%
- Competitively priced electricity (9 cents
– 13 cents per kw/hr) and privately generated
thermal energy provide abundant electricity
nationwide for commercial, industrial and
residential use.
- Three fiber-optic lines to the United
States mean there is only an 80 millisecond
delay in communications between the countries.
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The government and private-sector support business
development:
The government is investing in electricity production
to increase
generating capacity.
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Honduras has a large
network of Free Trade Zones: |
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- Free Trade Zones can be located anywhere
in Honduras.
- There are no duties on any imports coming
into the zones that are needed for production,
processing, and/or manufacturing of products
for export.
- All products being exported outside of
Honduras are duty-free.
- Free Trade Zone companies are exempt from
sales and corporate taxes.
- A Honduran customs official inspects
and seals all containers prior to their
departure from a free trade zone, allowing
for a shorter time needed to reach the customer.
Industrial Parks offer space in already
established free trade zones as well as
human resources services for companies.
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Honduras is a signatory
to the Central America-Dominican Republic-United
States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR): |
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- Exports from Honduras can enter the United
States duty-free.
- Imports from the United States can enter
Honduras duty-free.
- CAFTA-DR does not rely on renewal by
the U.S. Congress so the agreement is permanent.
- Honduras was one of the first countries
to enter the agreement, entering in April
of 2006.
- CAFTA-DR opens up public sectors to private
investors, decreases monopolies and provides
for transparency and enforcement of intellectual
property rights.
- CAFTA-DR protects U.S. investors in Honduras.
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Honduras has exceptional Seaports
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- 5 ports on the Caribbean, including the
Megaport Puerto Cortes
- 1 port on the Pacific
- The Logistic Corridor, which is under
construction, will grant Honduras access
to Puerto La Union on the Pacific coast
in El Salvador.
Puerto Cortes
- Puerto Cortes is the largest and deepest
port in Central America.
- Puerto Cortes participates in the
U.S. Government’s Container Security
(CSI), Megaports, and Secure Freight
(SFI) Initiatives.
- Puerto Cortes is the only port in
the Western Hemisphere that scans 100
percent of all incoming and outgoing
containers, including all those bound
for the United States
- It takes only 48 seconds to completely
scan a container using Gamma-Ray technology.
- U.S. and Honduran customs officials
scan each container at the port, and
a real-time image is sent to the Department
of Homeland Security in the United States.
- In terms of volume of shipments and
containers to the United States, Puerto
Cortes ranks 29th in the world
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Resources
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