Weekly Report - 01 December 2011 (WR-11-48)

EL SALVADOR | Trade deficit. El Salvador’s trade deficit reached US$3.9bn between January and October 2011, a 22.6% increase on the same period the previous year, according to recent figures from the Central Bank (BCR). Exports in the first ten months of 2011 reached US$4.49bn, a 19.5% rise on the same period in 2010 while imports totalled US$8.4bn, a 29.9% increase on 2010. The main exports are maquila products (US$1bn); coffee (US$428m); and sugar (US$106m); while petrol accounts for a sizeable chunk of the country’s import bill (US$1.4bn).