Browse Honduras Daily Stories

The head of Honduras's small-business chamber, Victorino Carranza, called on Congress's recent electricity system reforms to cut operating costs for micro and small enterprises, saying companies should pay only for energy consumed and that unpredictable rates now hamper financial planning.

Thomas R. Hardy, operations director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, said energy-sector reform and infrastructure projects linking Honduras's Atlantic and Pacific coasts are essential to drawing American investment and strengthening the country's economy.

The electricity regulator warns Honduras risks power rationing next year unless it rapidly adds new generation capacity through competitive bidding, which it says—not tax breaks—will lower energy costs.

Economic Development Minister Eddy Ordóñez warned merchants and producers that those unable to justify recent egg-carton price increases above 14 lempiras face fines of 1,000 to 10,000 minimum wages and possible month-long business closures.

Agriculture Minister Moisés Molina says Honduras faces no food shortage and markets are adequately stocked despite recent weather damage, with new harvests expected from mid-September onward.

Cohep president Anabel Gallardo said legal and economic uncertainty is a major barrier to attracting investment and formal employment, citing losses in the power sector, flaws in part-time labor law, and the need for job creation to retain Hondurans rather than rely on migration and remittances.

Sergio Zepeda, director of the UNAH's Institute for Economic and Social Research, called on the government to prioritize education, health, and productive investment in the 2027 budget draft due to Congress by September 15, arguing that spending must support development, not just cover operating costs.

Prices for basic produce at Roatán's El Lempirita market jumped sharply this week—tomatoes up to 15 lempiras per pound, onions to 40 lempiras—as vendors report plummeting sales because consumers are cutting back amid higher costs for water, farm inputs, and fuel.

The US dollar reached L27.00 per dollar, extending lempira weakness that economists warn will raise prices for imported goods, fuel, and agricultural inputs across Honduras's economy.

The Honduran lempira has depreciated to 26.98 per dollar and economist Dante Mossi warns the currency could break the 27-lempira barrier by late September or early October, potentially raising prices for imported goods including fuel.

About 670,000 Honduran households receive remittances from abroad, with 45% relying on them as their primary income source; 80% of remittance money goes to daily consumption rather than savings or investment, according to central bank data cited by a social-justice think tank.

Honduras's chamber of commerce says the Partial Employment Law contains vague wording and legal gaps that deter businesses from using it, citing only 70 registered contracts under the law and calling for clearer employment legislation to spur job creation.

The electricity regulator Héctor Corrales urged Congress to approve proposed reforms to the power sector that would enable competitive bidding for contracts, arguing such measures are essential to lower and stabilize rates—a stalled bill facing Liberal Party opposition.

Adverse weather and crop failures in Piraera, Lempira are forcing agricultural families to sell livestock to cover basic needs, prompting the mayor to call on the government for rural support.

The Agriculture Ministry unveiled a 10-year strategy investing $40 million annually to expand irrigation on 60,000 hectares, strengthen school meals for 300,000 children, and boost local farm production amid an El Niño drought affecting 134,000 families across 234 municipalities.

A UNAH economist warns that termination of Temporary Protected Status for approximately 50,000 Hondurans in the US could result in a gradual decline in remittances, potentially totaling $200 million annually if affected migrants lose formal employment and income capacity.

Standard & Poor's is conducting a periodic review of Honduras's sovereign credit rating on August 18–19, meeting with President Asfura, Congress members, and the private sector to assess the government's fiscal, economic, and institutional conditions.

The Agriculture Ministry projects rice production of 700,000 quintals (about 31,500 metric tons) in the near term, a 40% increase from 2025's roughly 500,000 quintals, as part of a strategy to reduce dependence on imports that currently supply over five million of the six million quintals Honduras consumes annually.

The Energy Ministry raised diesel prices by L 3.73–3.89 per gallon and kerosene by L 2.46–2.62 per gallon nationwide starting August 17, part of consecutive weeks of fuel increases affecting transport, industry, and agriculture.

The maquila industry generates about 130,000 jobs, contributes 45–50% of Honduras's gross exports, and projects $5.5 billion in shipments for 2026, though sector leaders say stronger investment climate and security are needed to sustain growth.

Basic-food prices at Roatán's Farmers Market remained relatively stable this week, with beans and eggs holding firm, some vegetables declining, and beef prices rising slightly as merchants reflected broader market pressures.

Economist Amparo Canales says the lempira has depreciated 1.69% against the US dollar so far in 2026, raising import costs for fuel, medicines, and production inputs and potentially pushing consumer prices higher.

State power utility ENEE accumulated a L11.2 billion (about $450 million) deficit in the first seven months of 2026, with energy theft and illegal connections accounting for roughly 75% of losses, according to a civil-society analysis presented to energy regulators and Congress.

The Finance Ministry has set preliminary budget allocations for government institutions as they prepare the 2027 General Budget proposal, due to Congress by September 14, with Finance Minister Emilio Hernández Hércules stressing the need to accelerate public investment execution this year.

Cohep, Honduras's main private-sector organization, rejected any involvement in a National Congress member Adolfo Ráquel's electricity-sector reform proposal, saying it has not reviewed or endorsed the initiative and will not be held responsible for its technical, legal, or financial implications.

The agricultural marketing institute reports Honduras holds 120,000 quintals (about 5,400 metric tons) of beans and 76,000 quintals (about 3,400 metric tons) of corn in strategic reserves, with new harvests expected in 20 days and a 25% discount on basic grains coming through state-run stores.

José Castañeda, president of Honduras's small and medium enterprise federation, argues that weak domestic production and outdated economic policies—not Chinese immigrants—are the real obstacles to Honduran competitiveness, as Congress investigates the entry of approximately 13,000 Asian citizens since 2022.

Consumer-protection group Fundación Artículo 19 puts the monthly basic food basket for a five-person household at over L16,000 (about $640), far above the government's figure of roughly L8,600.

Honduras's currency depreciated to near L27 per dollar as of early August, prompting economists to warn of pressure on import prices while the Central Bank says the decline is moderate and driven by normal supply-and-demand forces.

Honduran farmers are preparing to sell approximately 600,000 quintals (about 27,000 metric tons) of red beans from the first harvest cycle, which officials say has been delayed by late rains and variable weather.