In El Salvador, it is projected that in the current agricultural cycle, the corn and bean harvests will fall by 5% and 8%, respectively, compared to what was predicted at the time of planting.
The forecasts of the Chamber of Small and Medium Agricultural Producers (CAMPO) and the National Association of Rural Producers of El Salvador (ANPRES), specify that in the case of corn there are about 20,000 manzanas of crop damaged, which would imply a loss of investment of approximately $19 million.
The drought caused a decline of 18% in the 2015/16 harvest, and exporters project a reduction of $40 million in foreign sales.
Sugar producers are backing a plan to improve productivity per hectare in the next harvest in order to try to recover some of what was lost in the 2015/16 harvest.In the current harvest the climate phenomenon reduced total production to 2010 levels, falling from 790 thousand tons in the period 2014/15 to 650 thousand tons in 2015/16.
Salvadoran coffee exports could be reduced by $15 million compared to last year.
An article on Elsalvador.com reports that "...Low production in the 2015-2016 coffee harvest will cause the industry to lose out on about $15 million in exports of the aromatic, according to recent statements made by the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Orestes Ortez, in a state television interview.
The Ministry of Agriculture is projecting that local production of potatoes and onions will not be enough to meet domestic demand, and in the months of January and February 2015 imports will need to be made.
According to estimates arising from the latest survey conducted by the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) production of potatoes and onions in the early months of 2015 will not be sufficient to meet demand therefore analysis is being undertaken on how much will need to be imported.
The International Coffee Organization estimates that global demand will reach 175 million sacks of 60 kilos in 2020, driven by the markets of China, South Korea and Russia.
The sophistication of consumers and a growing preference for coffee in markets such as South Korea, China and Russia will be part of the main factors driving the increase in demand for the grain in the coming years.
Price rises are estimated due to the 25% reduction in exports from Brazil and the decline of 28% in the orange crops in the United States.
From a statement issued by the Foreign Trade Promotion Office of Costa Rica (Procomer):
In the first half of 2014, exports of Brazilian orange juice showed a significant drop. Up until May, exports totaled 375,000 tons, down 25% compared to the same period in 2013.
The government plans to create, using the 2014/2015 harvest, a strategic reserve of beans to try to influence the market during the season of high prices.
The proposal which emerged under the Funes administration but never came to fruition could be implemented in the next season, as announced by the Ministry of Agriculture.
"The ministry does not need a law to establish a strategic reserve of beans.
In the period 2014/2015 demand for coffee will exceed supply due to lower levels of grain production in Brazil.
The next coffee crop cycle will be the first since 2009/2010 in which a deficiency will be registered in the market as an overall deficit of 612,000 bags of coffee is foreseen. "2014/2015 will see the lowest level of production since 2011/2012 and the largest annual percentage decrease since 2009/2010."
The Government of El Salvador will not buy hybrid corn seed, which offers high performance and resistance to pathogens and bad weather.
"The resolution, transitory, is seen by many agricultural suppliers as a block on the free market and even violating trade agreements such as the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States or regulations dictated by the World Trade Organization (OIC)", reported Elsalvador.com.
Cucumber, zucchini and lemons have been grown inside transparent molds forming shapes such as hearts or stars.
From an article by the Costa Rican Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
The Spanish company Zayintec displayed cucumbers in the form of hearts and stars during a tasting, at the stand of the Diputación Provincial de Almería.
Cucumbers with heart and star shapes, grown in Almería with biological control techniques, are not only attractive because of their original appearance, but also because of their unique agronomic and organoleptic characteristics. For the development of this new line of cucurbits, Zayintec has implemented a process of innovation and improvement on a variety of the Persian cucumber, from the Middle East.
Between 2011 and 2012 El Salvador spent $160 million on the purchase of white maize, despite having the best performance per hectare of grain in the region.
Even though in the last nine years El Salvador has recorded the highest average agricultural yield, data provided by the Economic Integration System (SIECA) reveals that in 2012, the country imported 83,231 tonnes of white maize.
Losses caused by the rust disease in Honduras amount to 1.8 million bags, 650,000 quintals in Guatemala, 600,000 in Nicaragua, 400,000 in El Salvador, 200,000 in Costa Rica and 60,000 in Panama.
Those are the estimates of the Central American Organization of Coffee Exporters (ORCECA), who was unwilling to speculate on how much income the region would not receive because of declining exports.
The 2012-2013 Brazilian harvest will produce more than 50 million bags each weighing 60 kilos of processed grain.
According to projections from the state run National Supply Company (Conab) coffee production in Brazil's 2012 harvest will reach 50.48 million processed bags. This is the result of the third Conab survey, released on Thursday 6 September in Brasilia.
Salvadoran farmers are projecting a harvest of between 17 and 17.5 million quintals of corn.
The president of the Agricultural Suppliers Association (APA), Oscar Albanez, said they have the required factors for a very good harvest, "Winter in May was better than average. That was very good because it made the soil moist. On the other side, raw materials for producers have been stored up, both fertilizer and agrochemicals as well as seeds", he said according to Elsalvador.com.
With favorable weather conditions, the crop may amount to one million quintals, 300 thousand more than in 2011, which would generate $15 million.
If the weather is favorable this year, El Salvador could reap a million quintals of rice, an increase of 300,000 bushels compared to the previous year, generating income of $15 million and creating 272,000 direct and indirect jobs, said Max Granillo , president of the Association of Irrigation of the Drainage and Irrigation District (Areza).