Because of the rains generated in Central American countries by Hurricane Eta, authorities warn that coffee plantations could be threatened by the spread of pests or diseases.
It is estimated that in El Salvador the current coffee harvest will close at 600,000 quintals, a volume similar to that reported in 1890, when the country had not invested considerably in coffee production.
The lack of maintenance work such as pruning, fertilization, weed control, pests and diseases, are some of the reasons why the volume of coffee cultivation has fallen to levels reported 130 years ago.
Because of the lack of investment in recent years in the maintenance of the coffee park, in the first three months of the current harvest in El Salvador a 46% year-on-year drop in the volume of coffee production is reported.
Figures from the Salvadoran Coffee Council (CSC) indicate that from October to December 2019, nearly 358,000 quintals of coffee have been harvested, a volume that is lower than the 668,000 quintals produced in the same period in 2018.
With the implementation of the new technical regulations on the quality of roasted and ground coffee for marketing in the national and international markets, coffee growers in El Salvador expect to sell at better prices.
The technical regulation is in the public hearing phase on the site of the Salvadoran Agency for Technical Regulation (Osartec), a process that will end on 17 February, and will then be presented to the coffee sector.
While producers in El Salvador predict that the local crop could be extinct in the next two years because of falling international prices, other countries in the region place grain at more favorable prices.
Each country's realities are different, as there are several differences that are reflected in the amounts exported and in the average prices at which the grain sells abroad.
Producers in El Salvador asked President-elect Nayib Bukele to manage financing for the renovation of the farm, create a research center and protect the sector by regulating imports.
Through a letter sent to the president-elect on March 18, the Asociación Cafetalera de El Salvador (Acafesal) raised the need for $200 million in funding to renovate the coffee park.
In December 2018, it was reported that the international price of a pound of coffee fell to $1, which is equivalent to a 12% drop compared to the same month in 2017.
Data from the International Coffee Organization (ICO) detail that in the last two months of last year also reported a decline in the price of the pound of coffee globally, in this case was 8% as it declined from $1.09 to $1.
In Congress, work is being done on a bill that would create a research institute, long awaited for by local coffee growers.
The deputies announced that they are working in the Assemblytogether with the Coffee Table, on the request by producers to create an institution that will carry out research to improve the sector's productivity.
The union of producers claims that imports of the grain have grown to the point of currently representing 24% of national production.
The Salvadoran Coffee Association (Acafesal) presented a proposal to the Ministry of Agriculture requesting that more regulation be applied to imported coffee. The president of the association, Omar Flores, explained to Elsalvador.com that what they are looking for is that "...El Salvador have import regulation measures that protect coffee growers, the coffee sector, because the amount of imported coffee is very high."
The residential and industrial sectors in the Honduran city have registered growth of 30% and 20% respectively.
In recent years, Puerto Cortes has seen residential growth of 30%, in particular in the area near Omoa. Meanwhile, the industrial sector recorded a growth of 20%, especially in the last two years thanks to increased economic activity.
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