El Salvador 2026
Why invest in El Salvador?
El Salvador offers a strategic investment opportunity in coffee focused on improved production, productivity and designation of coffee origin for enhanced market access. This investment is very attractive with the consolidation of a more stable business environment in the country, supported by the macroeconomic stability of a dollarized country, GDP growth of 2.6% in 2024 and a firm commitment to strengthening legal certainty for investors in the country.
Featured opportunity
The proposal seeks to strengthen the coffee value chain, through investment in its transformation, from cultivation through to marketing. It is proposed to improve the productive and processing infrastructure and logistics of the coffee sector, as well as to train producers in good responsible agricultural practices, increase access to more profitable markets withand attract increasingly quality conscious consumers.
Objective
The project seeks to foster innovation in coffee production by incorporating new varieties and cultivation methods, with an investment of USD 21.3 million, an internal rate of return of 22% and a positive impact on approximately 95,000 people.
El Salvador in 2025
The Government obtained two important sources of financing for the coffee sector: a US$45 million IDB loan for "Strengthening the Climate Resilience of Coffee Forests" and a €5,000 grant from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation for the "Increase of Added Value and Valorization of Coffee in El Salvador."
Geospatial Typologies
Agro-informatics connects information technology with the management, analysis and application of agricultural data to indentify territories with untapped agrifood potential and design more accurate and targeted agrifood interventions. The use of new technologies and techniques in agriculture, such as satellite imagery, remote sensing, and geographic information systems, enable the transformation of data into actionable information.
POVERTY
POTENTIAL
EFFICIENCY
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Investment cases in El Salvador
Investment Cases and Interventions
Coffee production
INVESTMENT
USD 17.3 M
INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN (%)
19%
NET PRESENT VALUE
USD 67.9 M
DIRECT BENEFICIARIES
1,508
INDIRECT BENEFICIARIES
8,492
INCOME INCREASE PER CAPITA
2,366 USD/person
EMISSION REDUTION (EXACT)
-196,134 TCO2-E
Coffee processing
INVESTMENT
USD 5 M
INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN (%)
23%
NET PRESENT VALUE
USD 10.86 M
DIRECT BENEFICIARIES
1,508
INDIRECT BENEFICIARIES
8,492
INCOME INCREASE PER CAPITA
685 USD/person
EMISSION REDUTION (EXACT)
-196,134 TCO2-E
El Salvador produce café de alta calidad, reconocido por su fragancia rica, cuerpo sedoso de intensidad media a alta y acidez compleja. En la cosecha 2024-2025, la producción alcanzó 38,896 toneladas oro uva, con exportaciones que representan el 67 % de la producción. Además de los mercados en América, El Salvador tiene potencial para expandir sus exportaciones a Europa y Asia.
La inversión se enfoca en fortalecer las cadenas de valor del café en las regiones cafetaleras. Esto se realiza bajo sistemas agroforestales sostenibles, involucrando a 17,000 productores y abarcando un área que contribuye con el 8.3 % de la cobertura forestal del país. Este esfuerzo se estructura en dos componentes clave:
Producción primaria de café: Incluye la certificación de viveros de plantas de café, la entrega de subvenciones y la implementación de programas de capacitación para productores, así como la mejora de laboratorios de análisis de suelo y calidad.
Fortalecimiento de capacidades de procesamiento y posicionamiento del café: Consiste en brindar asistencia técnica a organizaciones de productores para optimizar los procesos e inversiones relacionadas con el beneficio y la transformación del café de alta calidad. Incluye capacitación en creación de marcas, desarrollo de franquicias, estrategias de mercadeo, análisis de calidad, así como la participación de productores en ferias internacionales para promover el café salvadoreño.
Resources
FAO's Hand-in-Hand Initiative
21/12/2023
The Hand-in-Hand (HIH) Initiative supports the implementation of nationally led, ambitious programmes to accelerate agrifood systems transformations...
In the Media
Contacts
For more information, please contact the Hand-in-Hand team