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.
The fall in international grain prices in recent years has increasingly affected producers in the region, who at current prices do not even reach the production costs.
Since years ago, international sugar prices have reported a clear downward trend, and in the last twelve months the quintal price registered a fall of 23%.
In the first days of January last year, the international price of sugar was above $15 per quintal, and that value has been decreasing in recent months, falling to $12 per quintal at the beginning of this year, according to Investing.com.
The sector's union has estimated that for the 2017-2018 harvest 2.4 million hundredweight of beans will could have been produced, but due to climate effects, only 1.9 million hundredweight will be collected.
According to the Salvadoran Chamber of Small and Medium Agricultural Producers (Field), with the 500 thousand hundredweight of beans that will not be collected in the period 2017-2018, $25 million will be lost, as each hundredweight is valued at $50.
Global coffee output for 2017/18 is preliminary estimated at 158.78 million bags, 0.7% higher than last year.
Total production of Arabica is estimated to decrease by 1.1% to 97.32 million bags compared to 98.42 million bags last year, as lower production of Colombian Milds and Brazilian Naturals are only partially offset by increases in Other Milds.
In October 2017 production limits and the "out of -quota" production concept will eliminate for the manufacture of biofuel and industrial non-food products.
The current production quota for sugar according to the European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which applies to the 28 countries in the bloc, is 13.5 million tons per year.The production capacity of sugar producers in the European bloc is higher than the quota, therefore eliminating production limits will lead to a lowering of prices due to excess supply, similar to what has already happened in the milk market following the elimination of production quotas.
World production projected for the end of 2015/16 cycle will decrease by 6% compared to the period 2014/15.
From a report at the end of August by the International Cocoa Organization:
London, 31 August 2016--The International Cocoa Organization today releases its revised forecasts for the current 2015/2016 cocoa year and revised estimates of world production, grindings and stocks of cocoa beans for 2014/2015, as summarized below.
The value of honey exports fell by 80% in the first four months of the harvest from 2015 to 2016, and the volume decreased by 70%.
Honey exports in El Salvador fell by 70% between November 2015 and February 2016 compared to the same period previously. The fall has been explained by the effects of drought, but with more intensity, in the low international price of honey, well below the production costs per hundredweight, according to the Center for Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education (Catie) published by Elmundo.sv. Beekeeping cooperatives have received offers of $55 per hundredweight, which contrast with the $125 offered in 2015.
The FAO predicts an increase in corn production in the Caribbean and Central America, reaching 30 million tonnes, 5% more than in 2014, with Mexico producing 85% of the total.
From a statement issued by from the FAO:
Central America and the Caribbean will be affected by El Niño
In Mexico, the wheat crop in 2015 will reach a record level of almost 4.1 million tonnes.
Private banks in Nicaragua will be granting loans to the agricultural sector in order to address the consequences of the drought across Central America.
$383 million in will be awarded loans. Juan Carlos Argüello, president of the Association of Private Banks of Nicaragua (Asobanp) stated that the agreement was made during a meeting with officials from the Central Bank to assess the impact that the lack of rain will have on production and the country's food supply.
Changes in food consumption patterns and preference for organic products are forcing the egg industry to modify its production techniques.
The demand for "specialty eggs" from hens that are free range or fed with organic products and a tendency to consume only egg whites in order to avoid cholesterol is revolutionizing the industry, forcing producers to develop new forms of production.
Estimates are that the future prices of sugarcane will increase by up to 13% due to drought in Brazil, which in 2013 accounted for 28% of global production of the grain.
A shortfall in global sugar production and consequently higher grain prices is what is seen in the medium term in the global agricultural market. The effects of climate on sugarcane crops in Brazil have resulted in a decline in the production of the world's largest producer.
The 72% increase in the price of the grain from November to date now offsets costs in El Salvador.
A rebound in coffee prices in recent months now allows coffee producers to cover production costs.
From a press release issued by the Salvadoran Coffee Council:
The Salvadoran Coffee Council, in light of rising prices for Arabica coffee futures contracts in May 2014, reacted with optimism urging producers to be vigilant and manage their business dealings properly considering that prices now exceed production costs.
The event will be taking place from the 6th to the 8th of August in Honduras with a focus on responsible production with nature, the environment and the social environment.
The fourth conference of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), will be held in the convention center Club Hondureño Árabe in San Pedro Sula. The event has previously been held in countries such as Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador.
Palm oil production will grow by more than 20% during 2013, and entrepreneurs are looking for new markets.
According to Hector Castro, president of the Association of Palm Growers in Honduras, annual production of palm oil is between 11% and 18%.
Castro said that one of the attractive markets for Honduran oil is Venezuela, a country which could receive the oil as part payment for fuel through the Petrocaribe initiative.