Guatemala Economy

Coffee is the leading export in this largely agricultural economy, accounting for about one-third of foreign earnings. Other major crops are sugar cane, bananas, cardamom and cotton. In the fishing industry, shrimps are a significant export earner. Guatemala boasts the largest manufacturing sector in Central America, accounting for 20 per cent of GDP, and produces processed foods, textiles, paper, pharmaceuticals and rubber goods. Oil deposits, first discovered in the mid-1970s, are being exploited by French and American concerns but the country remains a marginal producer and continues to rely heavily on imported oil. There is a small mining industry producing marble, copper, lead, zinc and other metals.

Guatemala ’s biggest business is the export of coffee. Coffee is grown mainly on the Pacific slope and in the department of Alta Verapaz. Other export crops include sugar, cotton, flowers, natural rubber and bananas with 50% of the population working in agriculture. The Motagua Valley also supports banana and sugarcane plantations and the rolling hills of Alta Verapaz also support dairy farming. Tourism is the second largest industry with 35% of the population employed in services. The remaining 15% are employed by industry with Guatemala City being the industrial and commercial center of the country. The El Peten department in the north depends mostly upon tourism as it is in this area where the great ruins of Tikal are located.