Browse Honduras Daily Stories

More than 100 Honduran shoe-manufacturing workshops risk closure due to a 5–10% rise in raw-material costs linked partly to power blackouts and rationing, threatening over 400 jobs, the industry association warned.

Following passage of the Energy Justice Law, approximately 10 companies are planning new investments in Honduras, including a $400 million light manufacturing project in Choloma, with officials citing energy-sector reforms as a key enabler for business confidence.

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.

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Castañeda, president of Honduras's small and medium enterprise federation, argues that weak domestic production and outdated economic policies—not Chinese immigrants—are the real obstacles to Honduran competitiveness, as Congress investigates the entry of approximately 13,000 Asian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

Economic Development Minister Eddy Ordóñez said the government is shifting from steep fines to warnings and guidance for small businesses, has conducted over 1,500 compliance trainings, and expects to announce a manufacturing-sector expansion creating more than 1,600 jobs.

Honduras's maquiladora sector lost roughly 40,000 jobs in 2025 as companies closed and relocated, even as the government announces a potential 4,000-job textile plant and says a US tariff on Honduran goods is straining competitiveness.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Cortés warned that international companies have suspended investment plans in Honduras pending the outcome of U.S. tariff negotiations, citing concern that a 10% tariff and potential further restrictions could push capital to competing Central American countries and hurt the manufacturing and job sectors.