weighted score 3.9 · ten dimensions
Sourcing Attractiveness Index · ten dimensions
Guatemala
Labour cost, supply base depth, logistics infrastructure, trade access, and innovation scores for Guatemala as a sourcing destination.
Labour cost competitiveness
7
Manufacturing and agricultural wages are low by global standards. Minimum wage approximately USD 400/month. Labour-intensive agriculture (coffee, cardamom) relies on seasonal and informal workers.
Supply base depth
3
Supply base is narrow and concentrated in agriculture. Limited manufacturing ecosystem beyond food processing. Few tier-2 or tier-3 industrial suppliers.
Logistics & infrastructure
4
Puerto Quetzal and Santo Tomás de Castilla handle exports but have capacity constraints. Road network quality is uneven outside main corridors. No rail freight network of significance.
Workforce skills
3
Large young population but low secondary and tertiary education completion rates. Technical and vocational training infrastructure is limited. Literacy rate lags regional averages.
Scalability
7
Agricultural export volumes can scale within existing land use. Coffee and cardamom production has room for yield improvement. Palm oil and sugar plantations are established at scale.
Ease of doing business
3
Bureaucratic complexity, corruption, and weak rule of law raise transaction costs. Contract enforcement is slow. Land tenure disputes are common, particularly in agricultural regions.
Trade access & tariffs
2
EU-Central America FTA provides preferential access for key exports. However, CAFTA-DR is the primary trade framework for US-bound goods. Limited FTA coverage beyond these two blocs.
Sustainability baseline
3
Deforestation pressure from palm oil and cattle. Smallholder coffee farms have limited ESG certification penetration. Water management and agrochemical use are growing concerns in export agriculture.
Innovation & IP
4
Specialty coffee sector shows innovation in processing methods and traceability. Broader R&D investment is minimal. Patent activity is negligible by international standards.
Quality standards
3
Specialty coffee achieves international quality benchmarks (SCA scoring). Other agricultural exports show variable quality control. Food safety certification (FSSC 22000, GLOBALG.A.P.) adoption is growing but not universal.
Agriculture & Export Products
Agriculture & Export Products
- Coffee
- Guatemala is a top-10 global coffee producer, known for high-altitude Antigua and Huehuetenango specialty beans. Arabica dominates. Coffee is the country's second-largest agricultural export and a significant employer in highland regions.
- Cardamom
- Guatemala is the world's #1 cardamom exporter, supplying the majority of global volume. Production is concentrated in Alta Verapaz department. Almost all output is exported, primarily to Middle Eastern markets.
- Palm oil & sugar
- Guatemala is Central America's largest palm oil producer and a significant sugar exporter. Both sectors are vertically integrated with refining capacity. Sugar exports benefit from established Pacific coast logistics via Puerto Quetzal.
Labour, Demographics & Infrastructure
Labour, Demographics & Infrastructure
- Population & workforce
- Guatemala has approximately 18 million people with a young demographic profile. Median age is around 23, providing a growing labour pool. However, educational attainment and formal employment rates remain low compared to regional peers.
- Port infrastructure
- Puerto Quetzal on the Pacific coast handles the majority of containerised exports. Santo Tomás de Castilla on the Caribbean coast serves Atlantic-bound trade. Both ports have capacity constraints relative to larger regional hubs.
- EU-Central America FTA
- The EU-Central America Association Agreement (in force since 2013) provides preferential tariff access for Guatemalan exports to the EU. This covers agricultural products including coffee, sugar, and fruits & vegetables.