Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices in El Salvador

The industry in figures

Source: INQUIFAR: Pharmaceutical industry sector report 2026 (PDF, in Spanish)¹

Jobs are the average number of workers registered with the Social Security Institute (ISSS). INQUIFAR estimates about three indirect jobs for each direct one, or roughly 18,450 in 2025. The Minister of Economy has given a rounder figure of about 6,500 jobs and 50 laboratories.^1,3

Exports: more volume, flat value

Dosed medicines packed for retail sale, tariff heading 3004, make up about 95% of the value exported. Between 2021 and 2025 the value of exports stayed broadly flat while volume grew by more than a quarter, and volume rose 14.7% in 2025 alone. INQUIFAR reads this as more capacity sold at lower prices, in a market where competition on price has grown. Without the textile maquila, medicines are the seventh largest export product of El Salvador.¹

Laboratories sold to more than 40 markets in 2025, but Central America bought more than USD 138.27 million, about 80% of the total. Guatemala alone took 26.4%. The United States is a large market by weight, 14.8 million kilograms in 2025, but at much lower prices per kilogram, and sales there rose by USD 2.82 million, or 18.8%, on 2024.^1,3

Source: INQUIFAR: Pharmaceutical industry sector report 2026 (PDF, in Spanish)¹

The first months of 2026 show the same pattern. From January to July, exports reached USD 100 million, up 0.6% on a year earlier, while the volume shipped fell 7.5%, according to Central Reserve Bank figures. Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras together took USD 64.9 million, almost two thirds of the total.⁵

Regionally, Salvadoran laboratories supplied 16.6% of the USD 1,095.2 million of pharmaceuticals exported by Central America in 2024, behind Costa Rica (41.3%) and Guatemala (37%). Medicines are the largest product traded between the Central American countries, worth USD 701.2 million in 2025.^4,1

The laboratories

The Superintendence of Health Regulation (SRS) reported 45 pharmaceutical laboratories in 2025, 35 of them certified for good manufacturing practice. INQUIFAR groups 18 national laboratories; 15 of them exported in 2025, selling USD 102.1 million abroad, or 59.2% of the sector total. Its 2025 export ranking of members, in order:^4,1

• 1 to 5: Vijosa, Tecnoquímicas de El Salvador, Activa, Establecimiento Ancalmo and Calox.
• 6 to 10: Procaps, Biokemical, Compañía Farmacéutica, Quimex and Corporación Bonima.
• 11 to 15: Merma, Laboratorio Solaris, Ferson, Laboratorios Teramed and Laboratorios Farma.

Source: INQUIFAR: Pharmaceutical industry sector report 2026 (PDF, in Spanish)¹

Wages are above the minimum wage and have risen each year since 2021; in 2025 women earned an average of USD 941.45 a month and men USD 1,077.84. The sector accounts for 3.55% of industrial employment and is one of the 26 priority sectors of the Industrial Development Plan 2025–2029.^1,2

Imports and public purchasing

El Salvador imported USD 589.4 million of dosed medicines in 2025, up 7.7%, and 88% of that came from outside Central America. Mexico is the largest supplier, and imports from India grew from USD 27.9 million in 2021 to USD 53.4 million in 2025. INQUIFAR notes that the average import price fell from about USD 35 a kilogram in 2021 to USD 19 in 2025.^1,2

Source: INQUIFAR: Pharmaceutical industry sector report 2026 (PDF, in Spanish)¹

The state is the largest single buyer. In 2025 the Ministry of Health awarded USD 288.2 million for medicines in 24 processes, 60% through competitive tenders and 35% through auctions on a private platform. The Social Security Institute awarded USD 46.88 million, and 89.8% of that went to international drug stores and laboratories. INQUIFAR argues that a larger share of public purchasing for local producers would reduce the risk of shortages.¹

Registering a medicine

Medicines, medical devices, cosmetics, food and veterinary products are registered with the Superintendence of Health Regulation (SRS), which replaced the National Medicines Directorate (DNM) in August 2024. Registration is now online with an electronic signature. The SRS says it registers products in 2 to 10 working days, depending on the type, and that it registered more than 19,000 products in its first year, to September 2025.⁷

Source: National Medicines Directorate: guide to the requirements for registering pharmaceutical products, version 7, December 2021 (PDF, in Spanish); Infobae: the Superintendence of Health Regulation cuts registration times to 10 days, 18 May 2026^6,7

The dossier follows the Central American technical regulations (RTCA), which El Salvador shares with its neighbours: RTCA 11.03.59:18 for the registration requirements, 11.03.42:07 for good manufacturing practice (in force since April 2016), 11.01.02:04 for labelling and 11.01.04:10 for stability studies. The same rules include a procedure for the mutual recognition of registrations between member states, which makes it easier for a product registered in one country to be sold in the others.⁸

Medical devices

Medical instruments (heading 9018) became the largest export product of Central America in 2025, at USD 9,038.8 million. El Salvador is a small part of that trade so far: its medical device exports to the United States grew by USD 2.8 million in 2025. INVEST, the government investment agency, is looking for investors in these products, under the Free Zones Law:^1,9

• Consumables: bandages, sutures, needles, catheters, syringes, surgical gloves, masks, dialysis and drainage bags, ostomy bags and surgical textiles.
• Instruments and parts: scissors, clamps, forceps, reusable scalpels, screws, plates and support bars, stethoscopes, blood pressure meters and basic thermometers.
• Research: clinical trials, molecule and drug testing and medical research.
• Medicines: drug manufacturing and packaging.

Source: INVEST: pharmaceuticals and medical devices sector⁹

Medical devices also need a sanitary registration. The regulator asks for a registration form with the risk class, a certificate of free sale for foreign products, a good manufacturing practice certificate, quality control specifications, the technical file and draft labels for the primary and secondary packaging.¹⁰

Context

INQUIFAR has linked the growth of the industry to better security. Homicides have fallen sharply under the state of exception in force since March 2022, while human rights groups report mass arbitrary detention under the same measures. The Minister of Economy has said the sector attracted more than USD 154 million of foreign investment in 2025.^11,12,13,3