Hurricane is coming! Will affect the coffee industry in many Central American countries

As early as early as June, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a report stating that the peak of the hurricane season would begin in June. In addition, this year's Atlantic hurricane season will become "extraordinary" and may face up to three times the usual risks.

In July, the hurricane season officially entered, and the first hurricane "Beryl" had formed. According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane "Beryl" had strengthened into a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 169 miles (272 kilometers) per hour. It also invaded the Caribbean, causing serious damage and impact to Jamaica, Haiti, Dominica and other places, and posing a serious threat to coffee production and exports in the Caribbean.

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, heavy rainfall caused life-threatening floods and mudslides in most areas of Jamaica and southern Haiti. In addition, due to continued strong winds and rainfall, many roads in Jamaica's coastal areas were washed away. Officials from the Jamaica Power Company also said that they were ready for power outages. To this end, the government of Jamaica declared a state of disaster across the country.

In addition, Hurricane Beryl also caused flooding in the northeastern Venezuelan state of Sucre. The cumulative death toll is currently 3 and 4 people are missing. The heavy rains brought by the hurricane damaged more than 8000 houses, of which more than 400 were completely destroyed.

At present, the Hurricane Center has issued a warning that Hurricane Beryl is about to make landfall on the Yuca Peninsula in Mexico, affecting the coastal areas of Mexico and the southern coastal areas of Texas in the United States. Although, according to the current route map of Hurricane Beryl, it will pass through northeastern Mexico, and Mexico's coffee producing areas are mainly concentrated in the south of the country, the hurricane will not have a direct impact on Mexico's coffee producing areas.

However, the area where the hurricane passes may pose a threat to Mexico and nearby areas, as the hurricane can bring strong winds, heavy rains and other disasters to the areas it passes, and may cause large-scale floods, landslides and other disasters, and may damage local infrastructure. It has an indirect impact on the production and exports of coffee-producing areas.

In fact, the hurricane season has always been a headache for Central American coffee producing countries. In 2020, there were two historic hurricanes "Eta" and "Iota", which caused serious damage to Central American coffee producing areas at that time., seriously affected Central American coffee production and exports at that time.

Generally, the period from May to June is the coffee blooming period in the Central American coffee producing areas, and the period from October to January is the picking period. If a hurricane is encountered during this period, the rainfall and strong winds brought by the hurricane are not conducive to final production, and will also affect the operation of terminals in coastal areas of Central America and the shipping of agricultural products such as coffee, which will eventually aggravate the fluctuation of coffee prices.

This year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, there will be more hurricanes in this year's Atlantic hurricane season due to abnormal climate. In the past, there were an average of 14 storms per year, but this year it may increase to 17 to 25 storms, and the destructive force will be greater than in the past, and countries are called on to take preventive measures.