Honduras operations
From Honduran farm and mine gate to port
KWE Metals LLC buys from Honduran farms, cooperatives, mines and processors and ships through the country's two main ports. Here's how it works, from the first sample to the ship leaving port.
How it works
1. Source
We work with vetted Honduran farms, cooperatives, mines and processors. Each producer is checked for licences, ownership and compliance before we quote their goods.
2. Inspect & grade
Lots are sampled and graded at origin — moisture and cupping for coffee, polarisation for sugar, assays for metals and minerals. Independent inspectors (e.g. SGS or similar) can be appointed at the buyer's request.
3. Export paperwork
We prepare the export file: commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, phytosanitary or health certificates for food and farm goods, and permits for minerals and timber.
4. Consolidate & truck
Goods are packed, containerised or bagged, and trucked from the farm or mine gate to the port. Metals and Honduran products can share one shipment for the same buyer.
5. Port & sailing
Cargo clears customs and loads at the port. We share the vessel, booking and tracking details in My Portal as soon as the sailing is confirmed.
Where our goods come from
Coffee
Highland farms in Copán, Ocotepeque, Lempira, Santa Bárbara, La Paz and El Paraíso. Harvest roughly November–April.
Bananas, palm oil & produce
Grown in the northern Caribbean lowlands — the Sula and Aguán valleys — close to Puerto Cortés.
Sugar & melons
Southern and central valleys, with sugar milled locally. Harvest roughly November–May.
Shrimp & seafood
Farmed shrimp from the Gulf of Fonseca in the south; lobster and fish from the Caribbean coast.
Cocoa & tobacco
Cocoa from the northern and Mosquitia regions; tobacco and cigars from the Danlí and Jamastrán valleys.
Metals & minerals
Mining areas across central and western Honduras feed our core metals business through the same trade desk.
Our ports
Caribbean (Atlantic)
Puerto Cortés
Honduras's main container port and one of the largest in Central America. Best for routes to the US East and Gulf coasts, Europe and the Caribbean. Most of our coffee, bananas, produce and container cargo ship from here.
Gulf of Fonseca (Pacific)
San Lorenzo
Honduras's Pacific port. Used for bulk and break-bulk cargo such as sugar, minerals and shrimp, and for routes to the US West Coast, Asia and South America.
Delivery times depend on port availability and approval. Typical staging windows are 20–35 days for existing customers and 40–60 days for new customers, once the deposit is received.