Increased coffee supply but reduced income in Honduras will increase coffee exports to China

Recently, the price of Arabica coffee is relatively stable, as the output of Arabica producing countries has rebounded and the supply of coffee exports has increased. In Central America in particular, according to the Honduras Coffee Institute, the largest coffee producer in Central America, 932678 bags were sold in Alabica in Honduras in February 2024, an increase of 26 per cent over the same period in 2023.

Although the export volume increased in February, coffee export income decreased before. It is reported that in the nearly four months since the coffee harvest season in 2023, that is, from October 1, 2023 to January 29, 2024, Honduran coffee exports totaled US $172.9 million, income decreased by 20.4% compared with the same period in the previous quarter, and coffee exports were 46100 tons, a decrease of 15.4% compared with 54500 tons in the same period of the previous quarter.

At present, the main buyers of Honduran coffee are the United States, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, South Korea and Canada, which have bought 70.5% of the coffee exported by Honduras. In addition, the Honduran Coffee Institute earlier predicted that Honduras would produce 5.35 million bags of coffee of 60 kg per bag by the end of 2023 / 24, a reduction of about 6% compared with the previous year, but due to stable logistics, the export volume could reach about 4.95 million bags, the same as the previous year.

However, the good news points out that in the middle of last year, China's General Administration of Customs issued a notice that allows raw coffee beans produced throughout Honduras to be directly imported into China, eliminating the need to enter China through entrepot trade. Therefore, the Minister of Economic Development of Honduras said that in the past, the export of Honduran products to Chinese mainland often had to be transferred to Taiwan, but now it can be exported directly to Chinese mainland, the cost and time will be greatly reduced.

And there has been a marked increase in coffee consumption in China, mainly due to the expansion of coffee shops in Chinese cities and the growing demand for coffee among Chinese young people. According to the International Coffee Organization (ICO), China's coffee consumption in the 2022 / 2023 harvest season increased by 15% year-on-year to 3.08 million bags. Therefore, it is very beneficial for the coffee export of Honduras.

Recently, according to the relevant authorities in Honduras, five more Honduran coffee enterprises have obtained export certification issued by the General Administration of Customs of China, which has created more business opportunities for Honduran coffee exports to China. 17 Honduran enterprises have been allowed to export coffee to China, and there will be more opportunities in the future, which is very important to the Honduran economy.