Colombia’s Coffee Exports Slip in 2008
Growers said the Andean country shipped 11.1 million 60-kg bags last year compared with 11.3 million in 2007, while production fell 9 percent to 11.48 million bags from 12.61 million a year earlier, the federation said in a statement.
It said the figures reflected crop renovation carried out on 211,000 hectares (521,400 acres) during the last two years.
"Although these programs affect production today, they will allow greater productivity in the future," it said, adding that high fertilizer prices and rains had also hit last year's harvest.
December's harvest was 1.1 million bags, down from 1.3 million during the same month a year earlier, but exports plunged 23.4 percent to just over 1 million bags.
Colombia, a top supplier of high-quality Arabica beans, expects to increase its production to 17 million bags by 2014 with a focus on high-demand specialty coffees.
The federation forecast 2009 production at between 11.8 million bags and 12.1 million bags as the crop renewal scheme starts top boost yields.
A further 105,000 hectares will enter the scheme this year, the federation said. Colombian coffee farmers are given free fertilizer and financial incentives to encourage them to overhaul aging plants.
However, industry analyst Shawn Hackett, president of Florida-based Hackett Financial Advisors, said it could take longer for the crop program to boost yields, forecasting 2009/2010 production at between 11.5 million and 12 million bags.
"I don't believe the crop rejuvenation plan will bear fruit as quickly as possible. It will take much longer in my opinion to see a major change in overall production trends," he said.
The benchmark March <KCH9> arabica coffee futures contract closed up 2.55 cents or 2.1 percent at $1.2220 per lb, a near four-month high, partly due to weaker output in Colombia, traders said.