Weekly Report - 14 June 2007

GUATEMALA | Remittances close in on exports. Remittances could outstrip exports for the first time this year. The central bank predicted that remittances, which totalled US$3.61bn in 2006, would clear US$4bn by the end of the year. Remittances increased by 12.1% in the first five months compared with the same period last year, to US$1.61bn, a new record. Exports in the first five months were, at US$1.81bn, only slightly higher, although traditional products (coffee, sugar, bananas and cardamom) did well, generating US$840m, up 17% on the same period last year. The economy's dependence on remittances underlines the importance of the immigration debate in the US: 97% of the remittances come from the 1.2m Guatemalans living in the US but 60% of these are illegal immigrants, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

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