Colombian Coffee Production Increased 13 In April But El Niño Impact Lowered Exports

BOGOTA, Colombia -- The world's leading producer of mild washed arabica coffee produced a total of 43,000 60-kilo bags in April. This was a 13% increase compared with the 924,000 bags Colombia produced during April 2015. Between January and April 2016, Colombian coffee production increased 10%, reaching a total of 4.2 million bags.

The Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) attributes the increase in production to the organization's coffee crop renovation initiatives, which have reportedly increased the productivity of Colombian coffee growing and the amount of young crops.

However, FNC reports that the devastation to crops caused by El Niño, an oscillation of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific impacting weather around the globe, has led to a drop in Colombian coffee exports. During the past 12 months (May 2015­ to April 2016), production reached nearly 14.6 million 60-kilo bags. This represented a 17% increase over the 12.4 million bags produced during the same period a year earlier.

Colombian coffee exports decreased 5% in April by reaching a total of 906,000 bags. This decline, FNC says, was largely due to the impact of the El Niño phenomenon, which has led to the accumulation of lower-quality beans in warehouses, which increased 35% between January and April.

Year-to-date exports reached nearly 4.2 million bags, a 9% increase over the 3.9 million bags sold in international markets between January and April 2015. During the past 12 months, Colombian coffee exports reached nearly 13.1 million bags. This was an 18% increase compared to the 11.1 million bags exported during the same period the previous year.