The drought has forced a prematurely end to the crushing season, which already experienced in the past fortnights performance drops of 42% compared to last year.
Zafranet.com reports that "... Sugar production in Brazil, the world's largest exporter of the raw material, is slowing rapidly due to a drought this year which will provoke an early end to the milling season in the coming weeks, said the Union of Sugarcane Industry in Brazil, Unica, on Tuesday. "
About $80 million is the estimate for spending by coffee producers in 2014/15 crop season which is estimated at 2.08 million hundredweight.
Around $78.8 million has been allocated for harvesting the crop, most of which will be used in the payment of wages to collectors, who in some cases are reported by producers to, "... be able to expect to earn up to $1,000 per month."
Volcafé, one of the largest traders in the world, has announced that its production will be 10% lower than the previous season, due to the effects of drought in Brazil.
After fluctuating for 4 weeks, the price of contracts with terms of one month for the arabica variety rose to $215 on April 23rd.
The variety of coffee which is considered the best quality, is starting to have disadvantages compared to the robusta variety, both due to changes in consumer trends, as well as price.
This is the warning given by experts who gathered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
In the absence of ratification of the Agreement, the agricultural sector sees its 2013 and 2014 harvests in danger, as European buyers are already negotiating with other Central American countries.
Alvaro Saenz, president of the National Chamber of Agriculture and Agribusiness (CNAA), said the delay in the approval of the CAAA compromises the sector since on June 15 Europe will announce which countries will enter into the first block of the trade agreement to set export quotas.
Following a major depression in 2011, when production fell by 36% and the area sown by 12%, exports in 2012 returned to traditional levels.
"The recovery is due to higher productivity per area planted, because last year there was still a drop in the number of hectares planted", reported Nacion.com.
Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), reveals that the citrus harvest increased from 252,000 tons in 2010 to 159,406 tons in 2011, but in 2012 it rose again to 280,000 tons.
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.
$300 million will be required for pest control alone, and more than $1 billion to renovate the plantations that have been affected.
The figures which have been gathered unofficially indicated that in excess of 1.7 million quintals of coffee have been destroyed by the fungus known as rust in Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador.
The president of the Coffee Exporters Association of Honduras (Adecafeh), Omar Acosta says that the loss in Honduras could reach two million quintals, "The Ihcafé says that no damage has been done, butwe do not understand why they are lying. They should have a plan for the country because it is a serious problem, we all know that there is a strong impact from rust and we believe there is a damage of between 25% and 30% of the crop, which amounts to two million quintals. "
The disease is advancing steadily, with no public or private plans in place to combat the scourge, which is making its greatest appearance since the seventies.
Laprensa.com.ni reports on the destructive influence of the "Roya" blight on coffee plantations in Nicaragua, but the drama is being experienced with similar intensity throughout Central America.
Affected by the rains and a renovation program that is beginning to bear fruit, the 2012 harvest will only be 8 million bags, far from the target of 8.5 million.
Colombia reduces 2012 coffee production target and sees difficulty in achieving 2013’s
Colombia has reduced its coffee production target to 8 million 60kg bags as a result of adverse weather conditions and the crop replacement program, according to the National Federation of Coffee Growers.
Low rainfall and aging plantations are the main factors for the decline in production.
An article in Elfinancierocr.com quotes the executive director of the Coffee Institute of Costa Rica (Icafe), Ronald Peters, who said: "We come from a good harvest, we will have a smaller quantity because of climate issues which benefited areas like the Central Valley but hurt others such as area of Coto Brus. We expect to meet all local and export commitments" and that "the current season (2011-2012) generated about 2.35 million quintals of coffee, equivalent to 1,680,000 bags weighing 60 kilos, so this coming season we expected not to exceed 2.2 million quintals."
The company Beneficiadora de Occidente, dedicated to the production of coffee, has introduced a prepaid card to pay its coffee pickers.
The company, through an agreement signed with Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, is the first to incorporate this method of payment, which may be extended to other agricultural activities (pineapple and banana plantations).
Recognized Brazilian company of backhoe loaders, telescopic, articulated and other types of cranes looking for companies interested in representing the brand and distributing their machinery in Central America and Mexico. The company manufactures and sells telescopic,...
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