Costa Rica Delayed
Coffee Harvest to Recover in January
Lower rainfall delayed the peak harvest of
Costa Rica's high-quality coffee crop by a
month but the trees were not damaged and
exports are expected to meet targets, the
Instituto del Café de Costa Rica (Icafé)
said.
Costa Rica's busiest harvest months are
usually December and January, but lower
precipitation last year delayed the plants'
flowering, Ronald Peters, executive director
of the institute known said last week.
"The harvest is about four weeks behind,"
Peters said.
In the first few months of the 2009/10
coffee season, which began in October, Costa
Rica exported 37% less beans than in the
previous cycle, even though the Central
American country is expecting a bigger crop
year on year.
"In January, it should adjust to what we're
expecting. In January, February, we should
be receiving the bulk of the coffee," Peters
said.
Icafé is maintaining its 2009/10 export
estimate of 1.46 million 60-kg bags, up more
than 10% compared to the 2008/09 season,
Peters said.
The eruption at the Turrialba volcano did
not hurt coffee farms in the area after it
spewed ash in its first major activity in
more than a century. Around 7% of Costa
Rica's high-end beans are grown in the lush
mountains around the Turrialba volcano. |
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