Disruption to the banana trade out of Honduras caused by recent earthquakes has been minimal.
The first quake to strike the Central American country came just off the coast early in the morning of May 28, and led to the closure of Puerto Cortés by the national port authority.
The port handles some 80 per cent of Honduras’ exports including bananas and was reopened the next day, working very slowly at first, following a tremor that measured 7.1 on the Richter scale.
Six people died in the earthquake, which had the greatest effect on the north-eastern region of San Pedro Sula - also the country’s most productive area.
Although exports have not been hit, producers operating from both small- and large-scale plantations have warned that damage to infrastructure and drainage ditches around the River Ulua could place their fields at risk of flooding.
The country was hit by a second quake in the early hours of Monday morning. This tremor struck off the coast and measured 5.7 on the Richter scale. No reports of damage or disruption to industry have been received, but seismologists are warning that off-shore tremors such as these at shallow depths can be indicative of tsunami activity and as such have issued a tsunami alert for the region.
No comments yet