Browse Honduras Daily Stories

The National Autonomous University of Honduras purchased a flight simulator to strengthen practical training for students in aviation operations and flight operations programs, with installation and staff training still pending.

A national food-security researcher warns that rising prices for staples are forcing poor Hondurans to replace nutritious foods with cheaper options, increasing malnutrition risk, especially for children under five, pregnant women, and the elderly.

The proposed 455.4-billion-lempira budget for 2027 would reduce public investment by 17.3% year-over-year to 39.9 billion lempiras (about $1.6 billion), with productive investment falling 34%, according to business-group analysis.

The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean cut its 2026 regional growth forecast to 2% from 2.2% due to geopolitical tensions and trade disruptions, but Honduras is projected to grow 3.5%, outpacing most peers in the region.

A Fosdeh economist cautioned that Honduras's return to an interbank foreign-exchange market could enable dollar hoarding and price spikes unless the central bank imposes safeguards, noting that five financial institutions already control 80% of the country's currency trade.

The head of Honduras's national business association says fuel subsidies do not solve the country's vulnerability to global oil-price swings and calls for structural measures—better public transit, revised work schedules, and a long-term energy strategy—to reduce fuel consumption and protect the economy.

Honduras's bakers say production costs have risen 30% due to higher prices for flour, shortening, fuel, and electricity, and may raise bread prices starting in November to preserve product quality.

Honduras received $10.1 billion in family remittances in the first nine months of 2026, a 11.2% increase from the same period in 2025, with the funds representing over a quarter of the country's GDP and the primary source of foreign currency.

The Honduran private-sector council backs the IMF's 3.3% growth forecast for Honduras this year, citing headwinds including weak US and European growth, climate impacts, energy scarcity, fuel costs, and transport and health-sector labor conflict.

Honduras's total public debt has exceeded $18 billion, with external debt alone over $11.5 billion, and Fosdeh warns that debt service payments of $3 billion planned for 2027 will consume resources needed for health, education, and other sectors.

The World Bank's vice president for Latin America, Susana Cordeiro Guerra, met with Central Bank President Roberto Lagos in Bangkok and confirmed plans to visit Honduras in mid-November to advance economic reforms and competitiveness measures.

Agriculture Ministry plans to invest 350–400 million lempiras (roughly $14–16 million) in a nationwide irrigation program to install over 500 drip-irrigation systems, drill wells, and rehabilitate existing infrastructure, targeting 800–900 farmers across drought-prone regions including the dry corridor and benefiting an estimated 1,600 hectares.

Economic Development Minister Eddy Ordóñez said the government reviews import requests for staples like rice and beans to protect local producers, conducts over 9,000 inspections nationwide, and has launched a digital complaint system to monitor price abuses and market violations.

Honduras's state power utility reduced its arrears to energy generators from over L16 billion to L7.4 billion (about $296 million) through payments exceeding L9 billion since April, while beginning to forgive residential customer debts under a new energy-justice law that could benefit up to 80,000 families.

Honduras's public external debt reached $11.31 billion as of August 2026, up $571 million from December 2025, driven by new borrowing of $1.52 billion against debt repayments of $946 million, according to the Central Bank.

Honduras is deploying 350 technical teams to georeference over 100,000 coffee farms to comply with the EU's deforestation regulation, which requires proof that exports did not come from land cleared after December 31, 2020—critical since roughly half of Honduras's coffee goes to Europe.

A UNAH economist warns that Honduras may receive over $12 billion in remittances in 2026, but that dependence on migrant money discourages investment in productive industries and exports.

South Korea will provide $500,000 in humanitarian aid to Honduras to support communities devastated by an El Niño-driven drought that has left about 620,000 people facing severe food insecurity, particularly in the southern dry corridor.

The National Association of Industrialists says international tensions, Middle East conflict, rising fuel and energy costs, and dollar fluctuations account for roughly one-third to two-fifths of Honduras's inflation, with the Central Bank expected to revise its economic forecasts in coming weeks.

Economist Guillermo Matamoros warns that Honduras faces obstacles—global trade reconfigurations, drought effects, high production costs, and weakening agriculture and manufacturing—that threaten the central bank's 3–4% GDP growth forecast for 2026, with about 47,000 jobs lost so far this year.

Honduras's October 2–11 Morazán holiday brought 1.6 million travelers nationwide and generated L769 million (about $31 million) in economic activity, with overnight stays at tourist destinations up 43 percent, Tourism Minister Andrés Ehrler reported.

Chinese-backed stores expanding across Honduras since the 2023 diplomatic opening have left small merchants reporting sales drops of up to 70% and facing unfair competition through alleged tax breaks and inflated rent bids, prompting calls for equal regulatory oversight.

Falling milk production nationwide and rising operational costs—driven by drought, heat, and expensive fuel—are pressuring dairy product prices, with cheese prices already rising by one lempira this week.

The government will absorb the ACPV fuel tax on diesel for 30 days to ease high fuel costs, but the National Association of Industrialists warns the subsidy is temporary and says structural solutions—infrastructure, technology, and efficiency—are needed to address rising global oil prices.

US power companies have expressed interest in investing in Honduras's energy sector following the September enactment of the Energy Justice Law, the government says.

Honduras's Morazán Week holiday began with lower-than-expected passenger traffic at major bus terminals, though authorities project over 500,000 travelers will move throughout the week, generating roughly L600 million ($24 million) for transport, hotels, and tourism-linked businesses.

Economist Germán Dubón says a diesel subsidy could help stabilize transport and distribution costs for basic goods, though he warns the measure will cost the state roughly 77 billion lempiras (about $3.1 billion), equivalent to 30–40% of the Health Ministry budget.

The government will temporarily waive the ACPV tax on diesel—12 lempiras per gallon—from October 5 to November 4, absorbing the cost to shield transport and consumers from rising international fuel prices.

Honduras's poultry industry reports losses of at least 6 million lempiras (about $240,000) amid production pressures, avian flu surveillance, and constraints on egg prices that the government and producers are addressing through reference pricing.

A Fosdeh economist proposed restructuring Honduras's fuel-subsidy program and reviewing public spending to address rising fuel prices, noting that increasing the subsidy from 65% to 70% has failed to keep prices down, while the government explores targeting diesel support to transportation and agriculture.