Assembly plants spearhead El Salvador export drive

El Salvador's exports reached $3.6 billion through July of this year, an increase of 3.6 percent.

But manufacturing industry, including the maquiladoras or assembly plants accounted for $3.4 billion of the total.

The maquiladoras contributed $751 million, with an annual increase of 15.5 percent, of which textiles and garments came to $513 million. The main export market continued to be the United States.