Combined arabica coffee exports from Colombia, Mexico, Central America, Peru and the Dominican Republic rose 23% in the October-December period to 5.4 million 60-kilogram bags, with all countries experiencing increases except for Mexico, Guatemala's National Coffee Association, or Anacafe, said Wednesday.
The regional group includes Latin American countries that produce the prized, mild washed arabica beans, and excludes the world's biggest coffee producer, Brazil, which prepares its beans using a dry method rather than the wet method.
Exports from Mexico, the only country that experienced a decrease, dropped 17% during the first three months of the 2010-11 coffee cycle from the same period during the 2009-10 season to 336,504 bags.
Officials have said they expect coffee production to increase during the 2010-11 season from last year to 4.4 million bags from 4.2 million bags. They attribute the decrease so far this season to the fact that coffee berries were late to ripen.
Some coffee producers say the official estimate for Mexico's current coffee production cycle is too high.
The countries that experienced the largest increases were Honduras, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador, where coffee exports rose 149%, 51% and 49%, respectively.
Coffee exports from Honduras, where the largest year-on-year increase occurred, more than doubled to 462,169 bags from 185,916 bags for the October-December period.
The Honduran coffee harvest began especially late in 2009-10, explaining the increase so far this season. Officials also attribute the export growth to improved agricultural practices that have increased production.
Coffee exports from Costa Rica, Colombia--the largest producer of mild washed arabica coffee--and Nicaragua increased 28%, 27% and 8%, respectively in the October-December period, Anacafe said.
(Source: http://www.coffeeasean.org/details.asp?Object=5&news_ID=25179759)
No comments:
Post a Comment