Central Bank of Nicaragua publishes Q2 2025 foreign trade report showing exports up 17% and the trade deficit narrowing

The Central Bank of Nicaragua published its foreign trade report and statistics for the second quarter of 2025, reporting total exports (goods plus free zone) of USD 2,366.8 million, up 17.0% year on year, while total imports reached USD 2,881.3 million, up 4.9%. The total trade deficit in the quarter was USD 514.5 million, 28.9% smaller than in the same period of 2024. Exports were split between goods exports of USD 1,475.1 million (62.3% of the total) and free zone exports of USD 891.7 million (37.7%). On a cumulative basis to June, total exports amounted to USD 4,441.1 million, up 12.5% versus 2024, driven by a 21.9% rise in goods exports (+USD 485.6 million) and a 0.5% increase in free zone exports (+USD 8.2 million). The increase in goods exports reflected higher agricultural exports (+48.7%, supported mainly by higher international prices for coffee (+42.7%) and live cattle (+37.8%)), higher mining exports (+31.5%), and higher fisheries exports (+13.0%), partly offset by a slight decline in manufactured exports (-0.2%). Total imports in the first half of 2025 amounted to USD 8,588.7 million, up 5.1% year on year, reflecting increases in both goods imports (+5.0%) and free zone imports (+5.4%). Within goods imports, capital goods (+18.5%), consumer goods (+9.1%), and intermediate goods (+6.5%) increased, while purchases of oil and derivatives fell 13.7%; the cumulative trade deficit in the first half was USD 1,147.6 million (USD 1,372.0 million in the first half of 2024).