Page 130 - STRATEGY Magazine (G)

GUATEMALA: INDUSTRY
Diverse Industries:
Poised for Growth
Once known only for coffee, sugar, and bananas, Guatemala is now the home to thriving industry that spans a wide spectrum of products. While agribusiness and tourism are still important, an assortment of light industry, mining, and garment and textile manufacturing add to the country’s diverse economy, providing a stable plat- form for future growth.
Guatemala’s economy has long been centered around agriculture, which ac- counts for 13.5 percent of gross domes- tic product (GDP) and employs nearly one-third to one-half of the labor force. However, Guatemala increasingly boasts a diverse mix of growing and thriving industry, including mining, textiles, light manufacturing (plastics, paper and cardboard, chemicals, machinery, and electromechanical devices), heavy indus- try (such as a steel mill in Escuintla), and a small pharmaceutical presence. As of early 2015, industry comprised about 29 percent of Guatemala’s gross GDP.
Guatemala’s flagship exports are coffee, bananas, sugar, and clothing,
although the nation exports more than 4,075 different products to nearly every country in the world. Coffee exports, valued at US $825 million in 2013, or 7.3 percent of all exports, ship primarily to the United States, Japan, Canada, Belgium, Italy, and Germany. Coffee production has dropped slightly due to a pernicious bout of leaf rust, but plants are recovering, and harvests are expect- ed to return to normal in the coming year.
Raw sugar accounts for about 9.7 percent of total exports, with a value of US $1.1 billion in 2013. Banana exports totaled US $869 million in 2013, or
7.7 percent of total exports. Garment
articles, including knit and woven piec- es, were valued at US $1.55 billion in 2013, accounting for 12 percent of total exports. Gold, nickel, lead, and crude petroleum are increasingly important in Guatemala’s export portfolio, accounting together for US $1.01 billion in 2013. Another sector on the rise is information technologies, which has maintained a steady growth of 5 percent every year since 2003 and now accounts for nearly US $300 million.
TRADING FREELY
It is important to understand the atmo- sphere in which these industries flour- ish. A pro-growth outlook in the region
128 STRATEGY
SPECIAL REPORT