Browse Honduras Daily Stories

Small-business owners in the Sula Valley report daily losses of approximately L10 million (about $400,000) from six- to eight-hour power outages in September, with three blackouts so far accumulating roughly L30 million in damages.

Honduras must improve transparency, anti-corruption controls, and institutional oversight to qualify again for funding from the US-backed Millennium Challenge Account, according to a governance expert who highlighted recent reforms in energy and beneficial-ownership disclosure as steps forward.

Honduras banana exports remain stagnant at around $20 million as fertilizer costs surge 300%, prompting many farmers to sell their land and exit the sector, industry leaders warn.

ENEE's 400-megawatt diesel-lease contract, signed under former management, requires the state utility to buy fuel at over $100 per barrel, driving generation costs above 45 cents per kilowatt-hour and forcing rolling blackouts that a partial rate freeze cannot offset.

Honduras's petroleum distributors' association is warning that rising international diesel prices could push up transport and food costs, and is calling on the government to adopt a long-term energy policy.

Egg prices in Honduras have jumped another 14 lempiras, now reaching up to 130 lempiras (about $5.20) per carton in Tegucigalpa markets, straining household budgets as a key protein source becomes less affordable.

Internal documents from the agricultural development bank Banadesa reveal a July 2026 credit committee meeting convened for only three loan applications totaling L31.7 million (about $1.27 million), including L7.8 million (about $312,000) to a man with political and family ties to the bank's president.

Adalid Irías, president of a consumer-advocacy group (Defco), called on Honduras's consumer-protection office to meet with producers to identify causes of recent food-price increases, citing eggs rising 6 lempiras (about $0.24) per carton and other staples climbing 3–4 lempiras, partly attributed to drought and higher livestock-feed costs.

Honduras's basic food basket increased from L14,500 to L16,000 between December 2025 and July 2026, according to Artículo 19, with meat, dairy, beans, and vegetables driving the cost surge and squeezing household buying power.

The Trump administration announced it will keep a 10% tariff on goods from Honduras and 59 other countries, citing insufficient efforts to prevent forced labor in their exports.

The research organization Sendas called for energy-sector reform to be built on political independence, reduced technical losses, financial recovery, greater market competition, and accountable leadership to address ENEE's structural crisis, which cost the utility about $530 million in uncollected revenue during 2025.

Juan Carlos Hernández, president of Honduras's Colegio de Economistas, defended the central bank's decision to hold its benchmark interest rate steady, arguing that lower rates would risk fueling inflation by increasing money in circulation without proportional growth in goods and services.

Finance Minister Emilio Hernández Hércules said the Public Safety Tax will collect over L6 billion (roughly $240 million) this year — up from L5.3–5.4 billion in prior years — driven by economic growth and higher banking transactions, with funds going to police, courts, prosecutors, defense, and the 911 emergency system.

Honduras's public-sector workers' union (ANDEPH) is preparing a formal proposal to the government for a 3,000-lempira (about $120) salary increase for roughly 120,000 state employees, citing a year without significant raises and inflation exceeding 4.5%.

Frequent blackouts across Honduras are causing daily losses to small and medium-sized businesses, with some municipalities reporting up to 14 outages daily and Congress stalled on energy reforms.

The government approved imports of corn, beans, and rice to manage domestic supply and control prices amid drought, while the agriculture ministry pursues higher-yield rice seeds to boost national production.

The government announced 64.3 million lempiras (about $2.6 million) in financing for salt producers through the ComRural program, aiming to strengthen the sector and create jobs in salt-producing communities across Honduras.

Prices for vegetables and legumes at Tegucigalpa's Feria del Agricultor have risen sharply—potatoes up 2 lempiras per pound, broccoli up 5, and red onions up 10–20—as drought in major farming zones like Lepaterique has cut production.

Honduras imports over 40 million pounds of avocados annually at a cost of $12–15 million in foreign exchange, and producers say strengthening domestic cultivation across the country's 1,200 farms could reduce dependency and support the agricultural economy.

Frequent blackouts are crippling Honduras's micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, with the sector reporting estimated daily losses of 15 million lempiras (about $600,000) as outages lasting up to six hours halt production and sales.

The National Logistics Council and National Investment Council signed an agreement under President Nasry Asfura's administration to attract foreign and domestic investment in logistics, trade, and industry, with a goal of creating more than 100,000 formal jobs, backed in part by a 600-million-lempira (about $24 million) expansion of Puerto Cortés's bulk terminal.

Three blackouts lasting 6 to 8 hours in September have cost small and medium-sized businesses in the Valle de Sula an estimated 30 million lempiras (about $1.2 million), with most lacking backup generators to sustain operations, a sector representative said.

The head of Honduras's land-transport authority said the government may call taxi operators to negotiate a rollback of the L5 provisional fare increase granted during higher fuel prices, if pump prices continue to decline.