Economic Importance for El Salvador

There are approximately 165,000 hectares devoted to coffee in El Salvador, close to 12% of the nation`s arable land. Although grown in 7 of the 14 provinces of the country, most of the plantations are found in the western and central provinces of Santa Ana ( 34% of total production), Ahuachapan (17%), Sonsonate (10%) an La Libertad (21%) .. Most of the coffee land in the eastern part of the country is located in the province of San Miguel (10% of the country`s total) and Usulutan (6%).

Currently representing 3% of the Gross National Product an 22% of the agricultural product, coffee has traditionally been an important source of hard currency. In 1997 it accounted for 22% of total exports. With improved local investment and a stable political climate, production in the 1990`s has stabilized at around 2.3 million 60kg bags, a 2.3% share of world output. El Salvador is currently ranked 11 th in production terms amongst the 55 producing nations.

Coffee is an important source of employment, generating close to 135,000 direct jobs, which account for 25% of the agricultural sector and 7% nation wide. In 1996/97 total exports amounted to 2.85 million 60kg bags, with a value of US$506 million. The bulk was shipped to Germany ( 45.3% of the total), the USA (18.55), Belgium (13.2%) and Holland (5.9%). Gourmet coffee exports have shown a steady increase from 13,535 60kg bags in 1993/94 to 55,796 bags in 1996/97.