That dollar amount results from a 39.9% increase from $5.27 billion 5 years earlier in 2019.
Year over year, total Nicaraguan exports flatlined via a 0.3% upturn compared to $7.36 billion for 2022.
Based on its average exchange rate for 2023, the Nicaraguan córdoba depreciated by -10% against the US dollar since 2019 and diluted by -1.6% from 2022 to 2023. Nicaragua’s weaker local currency makes the Central American country’s exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively lesser expensive for international buyers.
Nicaragua’s Best Exports Customers
The latest available country-specific data shows that 91.2% of products exported from Nicaragua was bought by importers in: United States of America (50.1% of the Nicaraguan total), Mexico (13.7%), El Salvador (6.5%), Canada (5.8%), Honduras (5%), Costa Rica (3.3%), Guatemala (2.2%), Belgium (1.2%), Panama (1.1%), United Kingdom (0.87%), Italy (0.79%) and Switzerland (0.78%).
From a continental perspective, 69.7% of Nicaragua’s exports by value was delivered to North American countries while 20.1% was sold to importers in Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean. Nicaragua shipped another 6.9% worth of goods to buyers in Europe.
Smaller percentages went to customers in Asia (2.7%), Africa (0.5%) then Oceania (0.2%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Nicaragua’s population of 6.68 million people, its total $7.38 billion in 2023 exports translates to approximately $1,100 for every resident in the Central American nation. That dollar metric equals the average $1,100 per person one year earlier in 2022.
Nicaragua’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Nicaraguan global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Nicaragua.
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: US$1.4 billion (18.8% of total exports)
- Gems, precious metals: $1.2 billion (15.7%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $849.2 million (11.5%)
- Meat: $719.4 million (9.7%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $610.3 million (8.3%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $463 million (6.3%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $326.9 million (4.4%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $278.6 million (3.8%)
- Fish: $267.6 million (3.6%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $230.5 million (3.1%)
Nicaragua’s top 10 export categories accounted for 85.3% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Dairy, eggs and honey was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 26.3% from 2022 to 2023.
In second place for improving export sales was gems and precious metals via a 18.7% advance led by gold.
Nicaragua’s shipments of electrical machinery and equipment posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 18.1%.
The leading decliner among Nicaragua’s top 10 export categories was fish pulled down by a -19.3% year-over-year drop.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, unwrought gold represents Nicaragua’s most valuable exported product generating 15.3% of the country’s total. In second place was knitted or crocheted t-shirts and vests (12.4%) trailed by insulated wire or cable (11.4%), coffee (8.3%), cigars, cigarillos and cigarettes (5.8%), fresh or chilled beef (5.5%), frozen beef (3.8%), knitted or crocheted jerseys or pullovers (3.2%), cheese and curd (3.1%), then sugar (2.6%).
Products Leading to Nicaragua’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Nicaraguan product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Gems, precious metals: US$1.2 billion (Up by 18.5% since 2022)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $698.1 million (Down by -3.5%)
- Meat: $652.5 million (Down by -1.1%)
- Coffee, tea, spices: $603.7 million (Down by -15.2%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $329.5 million (Up by 14%)
- Fish: $256 million (Down by -21.3%)
- Dairy, eggs, honey: $214 million (Up by 28.4%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $200.4 million (Up by 252.1%)
- Sugar, sugar confectionery: $193.2 million (Up by 11.3%)
- Vegetables: $156.2 million (Up by 38.1%)
Nicaragua has highly positive net exports in the international trade of gold and to a lesser extent, silver and jewerly. In turn, these cashflows indicate Nicaragua’s strong competitive advantages under the gems and precious metals product category.
Products Causing Nicaragua’s Worst Trade Deficits
Nicaragua recorded an overall -US$3.5 billion trade deficit for 2023, down by -9% from the -$3.9 billion in red ink one year earlier during 2022.
Below are exports from Nicaragua that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Nicaragua’s goods trail Nicaraguan importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$1.5 billion (Down by -16.2% since 2022)
- Vehicles: -$717.6 million (Up by 44.3%)
- Machinery including computers: -$609.9 million (Up by 8.5%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$481.8 million (Up by 2.3%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$459.3 million (Up by 3.3%)
- Knit or crochet fabric: -$343.8 million (Down by -35.2%)
- Iron, steel: -$295.5 million (Up by 29.3%)
- Cereals: -$283 million (Down by -13.6%)
- Paper, paper items: -$251.8 million (Up by 1.7%)
- Miscellaneous food preparations: -$212.5 million (Up by 21.4%)
Nicaragua has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the mineral fuels including oil category, notably due to red ink recorded for both refined and crude petroleum oils as well as petroleum gases.
Nicaraguan Export Companies
Not one Nicaraguan corporation ranks among Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists exports-related companies from Nicaragua. Selected examples are shown below.
- Compañía Cervecera de Nicaragua (brewery)
- ECAMI (alternative energy)
- El Castillo del Cacao (chocolate)
- Flor de Caña (rum)
- Gelateria Italiana (ice cream)
- Joya de Nicaragua (cigars)
- Kola Shaler Industrial (soft drinks)
In macroeconomic terms, Nicaragua’s total exported goods represent 14.2% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($51.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 14.2% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 15.5% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Nicaragua’s total economic performance, albeit based on a relatively short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Nicaragua’s unemployment rate averaged 7.157% for 2023, down from an average 7.518% one year earlier for 2022 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.
Nicaragua’s capital city is Managua, a word that can mean either “adjacent to the water” or “place of the chief”.
See also T-shirt Exports by Country, Sugar Exports by Country, Natural Honey Exports by Country and Top Milk Exporting Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on October 5, 2024
Forbes 2019 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on October 5, 2024
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on October 5, 2024
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on October 5, 2024
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on October 5, 2024
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on October 5, 2024
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on October 5, 2024
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Nicaragua. Accessed on October 5, 2024
Wikipedia, Managua. Accessed on October 5, 2024
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on October 5, 2024