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In El Salvador there is no specific food law. However, the Ministry of Health’s (MINSAL) Health Code is used to enforce food safety for all food and beverage products. MINSAL is in charge of food and beverage product registration. Animal based...

The Salvadoran Hotel and Restaurant sectors continue to improve their performance in 2022 as the tourism sector shows a full recovery.

Highlight: Beef production and exports in 2024 are projected to increase marginally. Exports at 445,000 tons carcass weight equivalent would be the second highest on record.

U.S. Consumer Oriented products continue to feature prominently in Salvadoran retail outlets, registering a new record-high of $281.5 million of imports in 2022.

El Salvador's coffee production is expected to reach 650,000 sixty-kg bags in marketing year (MY) 2022/23. The Salvadoran coffee sector continues to struggle mainly due to climate vulnerability and a lack of long-term strategy that hinders needed investment at the farm level.

Posts projects Paraguay’s wheat production for marketing year (MY) 2023/2024 to increase to 1.25 million metric tons (MMT), with exports rising to 410,000 MT.

Sugar production in marketing year (MY) 23 is estimated at 805,000 metric tons (MT), while production for MY22 reached 785,000 MT. Improving international prices have eased the financial burden exerted by the high cost of inputs on the sugar sector.

El Salvador’s food manufacturing sector has been able to successfully adapt to a challenging environment and has provided signals of a rapid recovery, despite facing a continuous crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the supply chain shortages that increased the costs of raw materials and other inputs needed to produce food.

Post projects marketing year (MY) 2023/2024 soybean production at 10 million metric tons (MMT) as planted area rises to 3.55 million hectares and Paraguay returns to trend for yield. MY 2023/2024 exports are projected at 6.4 MMT.

El Salvador is the only country in the Northern Triangle region, and the only country in Central America aside from Panama, that runs a trade deficit for agricultural commodities.

El Salvador’s imports of agricultural products from the United States experienced an outstanding rebound of 31% during 2021, reaching a total of $828 million. A constant influx of remittances and the gradual recovery of the hotel/restaurant sector have been determining factors contributing to a higher demand for imported foods.

There is no legal impediment to the use of biotechnology in El Salvador. Genetically engineered (GE) corn field trials were successfully completed. Also, the Ministry of Environment completed the regulatory framework for the safe use and commercialization of GE products. A new government administration that took office in June 2019, has shown interest in biotechnology and how it can help advance agricultural competitiveness in El Salvador.