Browse Honduras Daily Stories

Honduras spends more than 100 million lempiras (about $4 million) each day on public-employee salaries, with education receiving the largest budget allocation, according to former Education Minister Marlon Escoto.

Agriculture Minister Moisés Molina said Honduras requires approximately $16 billion in investment to fund irrigation projects that would modernize 500,000 acres of agricultural land.

Economist and former congressman Aníbal Cálix said public investment moved too slowly in the first half of 2026 and called for structural reforms at ENEE, the state power utility, to improve its financial performance and grid reliability.

Darwin Ponce, president of the advocacy group Artículo 19, argues that comparing Honduras's food-basket prices to other countries ignores local purchasing power, and that the basic basket for a five-person urban family costs around 16,000 lempiras (about $640), not the four-person household basis some use.

Analyst Luis Cruz attributes Honduras's lowest investment percentage in Central America to weak legal protections and investor uncertainty, arguing that strengthening the legal framework and offering greater certainty to investors are key to attracting capital and creating jobs.

Former Energy Secretary Erick Tejada says Honduras's state power company needs eight years to recover from deep structural problems, and warns that the government's no-subsidy policy is pushing electricity rate increases onto ordinary Hondurans.

Honduras's manufacturing industry grew 1.5% in the first quarter of 2026, reversing a 3.0% contraction in the prior quarter, driven by increased demand for food and beverages including processed coffee, fish, oils, flour, and bakery products.

Gross domestic product expanded 1.2% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the previous quarter, the strongest first-quarter growth in recent years and well above the 0.1% recorded in late 2025, signaling moderate economic acceleration.

Experts warn that a recent increase in power tariffs will drive up costs for basic foods, dairy, meat, and other essentials, as 85–90% of consumer products rely on electricity in production and storage.

Honduras' external debt climbed to $9.3 billion as of March 2026, up 13.3% over two years, prompting the business council to urge the government to prioritize efficient public spending and curb excessive borrowing.

The Central Bank of Honduras allocated $99.4 million in a foreign-exchange auction on July 1, setting the weighted average exchange rate at L26.7356 per dollar for July 2.

Credit to Honduras's private sector continues to grow favorably, driven by domestic-currency financing to businesses in productive sectors including services, real estate, and agriculture.

Honduras's banking system is reallocating resources toward domestic investments, particularly voluntary holdings of Central Bank securities and instruments issued by the government and state power utility ENEE.

The Central Bank of Honduras says its external position is solid, supported by rising foreign-exchange reserves and favorable inflows that have maintained a positive net flow of hard currency.

Honduras's state utility ENEE increased residential, commercial, and industrial electricity rates by 12.48% effective July 1 through September 30, raising monthly bills by roughly that percentage across all customer segments.

The International Monetary Fund is tracking Honduras's efforts to reform its electric sector, with pending actions still needed to address problems at the state-owned utility ENEE.

Foreign direct investment in Honduras dropped 27% in the first six months of 2026 to $213 million, about $80 million less than the same period last year, the Central Bank confirmed.

Honduras's coffee price slipped 0.8% year-over-year to $3.07 per kilogram in July, though the country remains among the world's top five coffee exporters and the crop sustains thousands of farming families.

Transport operators say urban bus fares will remain at 13 lempiras despite recent fuel-price declines, citing other operating costs and a government subsidy three months in arrears.

Year-over-year inflation in Honduras reached 6.09% in May, up 1.55 percentage points from a year earlier, driven mainly by rising fuel prices that accounted for nearly half the overall price increase.

Foreign direct investment to Honduras continued to grow in the first three months of 2026, supporting economic activity, according to the Central Bank.

Central Bank President Roberto Lagos said Honduras must prepare monetary and fiscal measures aligned with IMF recommendations to contain inflation, while currently monitoring how fuel prices ripple through the economy; he indicated no immediate rate adjustment is needed given US Federal Reserve policy.

Honduras's exports grew 2.8% quarter-over-quarter, driven by increased sales of coffee, crude oil, cigars, and services, while imports rose 2.1% due to higher purchases of industrial inputs, machinery, transport equipment, and fuel.

Agricultural production in Honduras declined 3.6% in the first quarter of 2026, reversing 2025's gains, driven mainly by drops in grain and coffee crops.

Honduras's electric utility regulator approved a third rate increase for 2026 effective July 1, expected to raise bills 5–10% through September, pushing year-to-date increases to nearly 15% amid inflation above target and lempira depreciation.

Honduras's net foreign reserves have accumulated $1.124 billion since January 27, the Central Bank reported, with import coverage holding steady at 6.6 months.

Twenty-one staple foods including butter, cheese, pasta, and beef ribs have fallen in price following five consecutive weeks of fuel reductions, as the Economy Ministry pushes over 16 industries to pass savings to consumers.

Housing Secretary Francis Argeñal said 75% of Honduras's population lacks access to bank credit, prompting the government to develop a national financial-inclusion plan and subsidy policy for housing projects.

Engineer Salomón Ordoñez warned that a 12.48% increase in electricity tariffs will raise living costs and dampen foreign investment, urging transparent bidding and cuts to power-system losses to stabilize rates.

Carlos Hernández, director of the advocacy group ASJ, warns that the state power utility ENEE has received 46 billion lempiras over four years while carrying a debt exceeding 100 billion lempiras, and continues to suffer from high losses, unfocused subsidies, and electricity theft.