El Salvador's Central Reserve Bank (BCR) recorded a 30.4 percent increase in family remittances in the first quarter of this year.
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Around US$1.7 billion in remittances entered the country, representing a surplus of US$398 million as compared to the same period last year.
From that amount, US$1.6 billion came from the United States, which is the main source of remittances. In March alone, remittances amounted to US$683 million, the highest monthly figure recorded by the BCR since 1991.
The money inflows grew in almost all Salvadorean territories. Chalatenango was the department with the highest amount (US$406 million), followed by Cabañas (US$391 million), Morazan (US$367 million), and La Union (US$347 million).
Last month, other important remittance flows to El Salvador came from Canada (US$16 million), Italy (US$7 million), Spain (US$6 million), and Mexico (US$2 million).
During the first quarter of the year, BCR also registered exports worth US $ 1.6 billion, a figure higher than that registered in the equivalent period of 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Approximately 2.8 million Salvadorans are residing outside the country, 90 percent of whom live in the U.S.