Volume sales of staple foods saw slow growth in 2023 while values rose due to inflationary pressures. The normalisation of lifestyles in the wake of the pandemic reduced the home cooking trend and lowered demand for products such as shelf stable beans and tomatoes as well as pasta and rice.
El Salvador has a high level of dependence on imports to meet its national demand for certain foods that are essential in the daily diet of its population. Among the foods with the highest local consumption and which are popular regardless of demographic group, are pupusas.
Consumers in El Salvador typically have three meals a day, consisting of breakfast, lunch and dinner. Lunch is usually considered the most important meal but is often only eaten together as a family at weekends due to work and school commitments.
In 2022, El Salvador closed the year with inflation reported at 7.2% according to official figures from the Central Reserve Bank, with this rate being the highest registered over the previous two decades.
Connectivity is good in El Salvador with the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranking the country’s road network among the best in the region. However, gang-related extortion makes it difficult for distributors to reach all neighbourhoods, which means they often prefer to go to a distribution centre and then deliver to a supermarket warehouse, with supermarkets having "agreements" with gangs to allow them to deliver their products.
From 2024 and for the remainder of the forecast period, retail volume sales of staple foods are set to see modest growth. Certain foods such as pupusas or rice already have high levels of penetration as they are an integral part of the daily diet of most demographics.
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Staple Foods
NOTE: Couscous, polenta and quinoa are excluded from staple foods.
See All of Our DefinitionsThis report originates from Passport, our Staple Foods research and analysis database.
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