Coffee production in Colombia is picking up! National competitions will be held soon to enhance international influence

Recently, the Colombia Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) released the status of Colombia coffee in May. Coffee production in Colombia was 1.12 million, an increase of 38.9% over the same period last year, and the performance was good.

In May 2023, Colombia is suffering from the La Niña phenomenon, resulting in a reduction in production in the first half of 2023. In the first half of this year, El Niño also had a drought impact on Colombia, but the impact was small. Moreover, the rainy season entered in May, alleviating the impact of the drought, so production began to pick up.

In terms of exports, Colombia's coffee exports in April were 792,000 bags (60 kg/bag), an increase of 9.5% compared with the same period in 2023. In the cumulative 12 months (May 2023 to April 2024), exports increased by 1.4% compared with the same period to 11 million bags.

In May, the average domestic coffee price in Colombia was 1,596,129 pesos (approximately US$412)/picol (125kg), a decrease of 4% compared with April and a decrease of 15.8% compared with the price of 1,895,968 in the same period last year. The price decline was due to a 4.2% decline in the price of coffee futures contracts in New York, while the decline compared with the same period last year was due to the decline in exchange rates and coffee spreads.

Although production has improved in May and has basically escaped the impact of the El Niño phenomenon, we are still worried about the next weather conditions. Due to frequent heavy rainfall in many countries in Latin America in recent days, natural disasters such as floods and landslides have been caused, causing serious casualties and property losses.

Floods and landslides are currently occurring in neighboring countries of Colombia, such as Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Guatemala. There is no heavy rainfall in Colombia, but Colombia is in the rainy season, so the meteorological department reminds you to take precautions to avoid serious losses.

Earlier, civil strife continued to break out in Colombia. It is reported that in the province of Cauca in southwestern Colombia, anti-government armed forces have intensified recent violence, and incidents such as bomb attacks and shootings have affected the local coffee industry. Recently, good news pointed out that the Colombia anti-government armed group "Colombia National Liberation Army" held a meeting of representatives of various factions and issued a statement reiterating that the organization is willing to abide by the commitments made in reaching a peace talks agreement with the Colombian government.

In addition, the Colombia Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) is currently hosting the 9th "Colombia Diversity" Coffee Quality Competition (Colombia Tierra de Diversidad). It is understood that the competition is similar to the Best Panama (BOP) competition, which will connect Colombia coffee growers with domestic and international buyers, increase the income of coffee growers through the quality and differentiation of coffee, and enhance the international influence of Colombia coffee.