• GDP: US$4.3 billion (2004).
• Main exports: Coffee, seafood, beef, sugar, industrial goods, gold, bananas and sesame.
• Main imports: Petroleum, agricultural supplies and manufactured goods.
• Main trade partners: Exports to: USA, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica. Imports from: USA, Venezuela, Costa Rica and Mexico.

Agriculture is the main component of Nicaragua’s economy, with coffee, sugar, bananas and meat the principal exports. Maize, beans and rice are grown for domestic consumption. The principal manufacturing industries are food, drinks, the production of chemicals and oil refining. There is also a small mining industry working deposits of gold, silver, lead and zinc.
Nicaragua’s economic travails during the last 20 years have left it among the poorest countries in the Americas. Some key industrial operations were nationalised following the 1979 Sandinista revolution but the bulk of the economy was left in private hands.
Unfortunately, domestic mismanagement, Western economic sanctions and the cost of the civil war against the ‘contras’ meant that the Sandinista period was one of continuous economic decline. However, the economy has fared little better since then. During the 1990s, Nicaragua implemented a Structural Adjustment programme supervised by the IMF. It also required several injections of emergency aid after a series of major natural disasters – floods and droughts – which caused huge damage to the agricultural economy. Low commodity prices and the pressure of a substantial foreign debt exacerbated the country’s economic difficulties. In 2001, Nicaragua was a beneficiary of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative which wrote off part of the debt. It reached completion point in January 2004, resulting in an 80 per cent reduction in external debt. Annual growth in 2004 was 4.2 per cent, while inflation was 9.3 per cent. Nicaragua is a member of the Central American Common Market and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Businessmen wear business suits with ties, or long-sleeved shirts and smart trousers; businesswomen wear business dresses. A knowledge of Spanish is an advantage, although some businesspeople speak English. Enquire at the Embassy for interpreter services. The best time to visit is November to March. Office hours: Mon-Fri 0800-1700. Some offices close for an hour at lunchtime (1230-1330).

Cámara de Comercio de Nicaragua
PO Box 135-C-001, Managua, Nicaragua
Tel: 268 3505 or 3514.

NicaExport, Centro de Promoción de Exportaciones
Street address: Km 4 Carretera a Masaya, Esquina Sur, Edificio Delta, 1 cuadra al este, 1/2 cuadra al norte, Managua, Nicaragua
Postal address: Apartado Postal 5932, Managua, Nicaragua
Tel: 252 5747.
Website: www.nicaexport.com.ni or www.cei.org.ni