Haiti’s economy was on rough footing before the quake, with more than 70 percent of the population surviving on $2 or less a day. But it was also showing signs of improvement, growing 2.9 percent in 2009, one of the hemisphere’s highest rates. Higher public spending, debt forgiveness by rich nations and an expanding textile industry, which provides more than 90 percent of export revenues, contributed to the growth.
The earthquake effectively shut down most textile companies, many of which are in the capital to be close to the port. In what may have been the earthquake’s largest loss of life in a single location, at least 500 people were killed at a Palm Apparel T-shirt factory near the airport, hitting the business empire of Alain Villard,
The earthquake effectively shut down most textile companies, many of which are in the capital to be close to the port. In what may have been the earthquake’s largest loss of life in a single location, at least 500 people were killed at a Palm Apparel T-shirt factory near the airport, hitting the business empire of Alain Villard,