Mining has provided foreign exchange, but the…

Mining has provided foreign exchange, but the vast majority of Hondurans gain their livelihoods from agriculture, usually on a subsistence level.

Periodic efforts are made to develop agricultural exports, but they meet with little success.

Some tobacco, cattle, and hides are exported, mostly to neighboring countries.

The recurring civil conflicts and the resultant confiscation of stock by various military commanders, however, puts a damper on efforts to develop the cattle industry and contributes to its rather backward status.

Some bananas and other fruits are exported from the Islas de la Bahia, much of this trade going to New Orleans, but the volume is small and the benefit for the rest of the nation almost imperceptible.