Foreign Investment will drive development
Tourism, textile assembly operations, and forestry are just some of the sectors that have growth potential

ARTURO ALVARADO SANCHEZ Minister of Finance

Regional integration will bring significant development opportunities. According to Minister of Finance, Arturo Alvarado Sanchez, the government has limited capacity to invest, putting the emphasis heavily on foreign investment. This will help push economic growth both in Honduras and across Central America. “It is important the government creates suitable conditions so that private investment can come,” he says.

Areas with strong development potential include tourism, textiles, assembly operations, and forestry. Norman Garcia, Minister of Industry and Commerce, says there is a long history of American investment, dating back over 100 years. He says the country’s urban infrastructure development on the Atlantic side is unique to the region. “You will not find another country with a city as large and as important in commercial terms as San Pedro Sula in Central America.” Outside the city is the region’s only deepwater Atlantic port.

Agriculture is also a major priority. Honduras is already the largest water melon and cantaloupe exporter to the U.S. and one of the leading suppliers of cultivated shrimp. The list also includes pineapples, carrots and more traditional crops such as bananas, and coffee. Total exports have risen massively in the last decade from $800m in 1992 to $3.2bn in 2002.

Mariano Jiménez Talavera, Minister of Agriculture, says Honduras needs to adopt a long-term strategy to attract fresh capital, technology and know-how from overseas. “We can provide a clean environment, a big country with a lot of potential, and we have trained people.” It also means developing new commercial markets and expanding the non-traditional sector, in areas like fisheries, poultry, and pork. Institutions such as Zamorano University in Tegucigalpa is taking a lead role in the development of new agricultural products.

Patricia Panting, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, notes the huge bio-diversity of Honduras, something which not only brings opportunity but also great responsibility. There is already an infrastructure in place to protect the country’s lush tropical environment, through organizations like La Fundacion Vida, which works with NGOs on local projects. At the same time, Honduras is ideally placed to tap niche markets such as eco-tourism, in which the emphasis is always on sustainable development. “Environmental education is forever,” she says.