It is important to emphasize that exports are divided into two categories, goods and services, and each one has had different scenarios.

In the case of services, Cuellar confirmed an increase and has doubled in eight years, going from US$2,000 million to US$4,000 million last year.

She also pointed out that tourism has improved, and this generates more foreign exchange income, there are more "call centers", more information technology businesses, logistics, air services.

And something important, he explained that Coexport did not deal with franchises (product services), but has counted, in alliance with partners, 36 companies that are ready to grant their franchises that export not only the theme of the brand, but inputs for these businesses. "Of those 36 companies, 32 are small and 28 are managed by women. Services is a sector that is moving forward, that can break gaps", she said.

However, the opposite is happening for the export of goods, according to the COEXPORT spokeswoman, this item will have a slow recovery in the shipment of goods after a sharp drop in 2023 due to lower demand from major trading partners.

Last january, the trade association estimated that exports will remain negative in the first quarter of 2024, a dynamic burdened by a sharp drop of $617 million at the end of 2023, or 8.7%. According to Silvia Cuellar, president of Coexport, recovery will begin between march and april, although the figures will remain far from the results of 2022, when shipments reached US$7,115.1 million at the end of that year, a figure that slowed down to US$6,498.1 million by 2023.

This drop corresponds to the low demand from the United States, the main buyer of salvadoran goods, especially in the textile and apparel sector.

Translated by: A.M