Honduran coffee exports fall by nearly half in October - Reuters News
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02-Nov-2022 00:12:33
TEGUCIGALPA, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Hondura's coffee exports fell about 47% in October from the same month last year amid price volatility in the global market, coffee industry officials said on Tuesday.

Coffee shipments from Honduras, Central America's top producer and exporter, hit 42,850 60-kg bags in October, the first month of the 2022/23 harvesting season, down from 80,328 bags a year ago, according to preliminary data from national coffee institute IHCAFE.

Average prices so far in the 2022/23 season are up about 47% compared with the same period during the previous cycle, according to IHCAFE data.

"This month there has been caution with making offers, with making sales because you have to be aware of that price volatility in the market," said Miguel Pon, head of Honduran coffee exporters association ADECAFEH.

Sales contracts in October covered around 148,700 bags, down 53% from the same period last season, according to IHCAFE.

Honduras expects to export some 5.52 million bags of coffee in the current 2022/23 season, which would mark 17% growth from exports of 4.70 million bags during the previous cycle.

The coffee season in Central America and Mexico, where farmers mostly grow higher-end arabica beans, runs from October through September