Rust disease reduces coffee production in eight Latin American countries

International online feature: according to a report by the Colombian Observer on October 24, a few days ago, the Guatemalan National Coffee Industry Association (Anacafe) released a report that between October 2013 and August 2014 Total coffee exports from the nine major coffee-growing countries in Latin America-Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and the Dominican Republic-fell by nearly 5 percentage points year on year.

According to a report by the Anacafe Association, in the past year, the nine Latin American countries exported a total of 27.4 million bags of coffee beans with specifications of 60 kilograms, down 4.83 percent from the previous year, compared with 28.8 million bags the previous year. According to the report, with the exception of Colombia, coffee exports increased by 22%, while the other eight countries showed a decline in exports, with El Salvador falling the most, down 57% from the same period last year. This was followed by the Dominican Republic (53%), Mexico (32%), Guatemala (15%), Peru (12.5%), Costa Rica (10.8%), Nicaragua (8.1%) and Honduras (3.7%).

It is reported that the reduction in coffee exports from the above eight countries is directly related to the reduction in coffee bean production caused by rust. Since the year before last, rust spot has greatly reduced the production of coffee plants in Latin American countries, but the impact of the pathogen has not been controlled this year.

In addition, the Anacafe Association does not include Brazil in the report because it does not have data on coffee plant production and exports from Brazil, the world's largest coffee exporter.