El Salvador reports higher income from remittances in pandemic

A woman counts money outside a US remittance collection agency in San Isidro, 70 km northeast of San Salvador, on June 10, 2020 (Credit: Marvin Recinos / AFP / Getty Images)

(CNN Spanish) -

The flow of family remittances continues to grow in El Salvador.

In January alone, the country received US $ 515.8 million and reaches a new mark, the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) reported on Monday.

The figure represents an increase of 21.5% compared to January 2020. At that time, US $ 424.4 million in remittances were registered, according to Douglas Rodríguez, president of the BCR.

"Family remittances registered in January 2021 the highest growth rate since the beginning of the pandemic," Rodríguez said at a press conference.

The United States continues to be the country where most of the remittances come from, according to the Salvadoran authorities.

Of the US $ 515.8 million reported in January, US $ 491.1 million came from there, the BCR reported.

This figure represents an increase of 21.7% compared to January 2020 in remittances that arrive in El Salvador.

In a statement, the BCR assures that the increase is related to the delivery of the second stimulus check that the US government granted to citizens with the aim of reducing the impact of the pandemic.

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In El Salvador, the sending of family aid fell by 40% in April 2020, in the midst of the spread of covid-19, according to bank records.

That month, Salvadoran families received US $ 287.3 million.

Remittances represent an important pillar for the Salvadoran economy.

Only in 2018 did they reach 20.3% of the Gross Domestic Product, according to the BCR.

Remittances