In the last year, the coffee it was consolidated as the third Peruvian agro-export product, only behind grapes and blueberries. Thus, between January and December it accumulated more than US$1.2 billion, which meant a year-on-year increase of more than 60%. The result for 2022, in addition, was the highest figure recorded since 2011, when it managed to overcome US$1.5 billion. While in subsequent campaigns it had not exceeded US$750,000.
However, in the first quarter of this year it has registered a year-on-year drop of more than 70%. Coffee shipments achieved a cumulative amount of only US$92.1 million FOB compared to the more than US$300 million reached in the first three months of 2022.
However, Lorenzo Castillo, manager of the National Coffee Board (JNC), explains that this contraction does not imply a poor performance of shipments, but is generated by a distortion of shipments made in the first months of last year.
“The shipments of 2021, due to shortage of ships, they were delayed and a large part of that year’s harvest was shipped in the first quarter of 2022, which is why we had some interesting figures,” he says.
The export figures for Peruvian coffee have been affected due to the weather problems that occurred in the last months of the year. Photo: diffusion
In this sense, he affirms that this year, as the balances of the previous harvest remain very low, the exports of this grain will contract. “That leads us to a forecast of between 4 million and a maximum of 4.2 million quintals of exports,” he estimates.
pests attack
The decrease in inventories is not the only factor that could affect exports, but the reduction in the production of coffee during this campaign as a consequence of the weather phenomena that led to the appearance of pests.
The irregular transit between heavy rains and high temperatures has caused the appearance of anthracnose in coffee plants, says Elver Pérez, a coffee farmer from the Jepelacio district in the San Martín region.
The plague that spreads in the coffee plantations from the northeastern corridor attacks plants that are in the production stage. “Start at the leaves, then dry the branches from the tip to the trunk. This causes problems in the fruits, their maturation does not develop at 100%“, details.
This plague adds to the endemic presence of rust in this area of the country.
According to the also president of the Association of Agricultural Producers of Alto Rioja, the rains are also damaging this campaign. “They greatly affect harvesting and drying,” he notes. He adds that they also cause the fall of ripe grains.
The shortage Labor is another factor that affects the harvest. This is due to the fact that the eventual labor force migration is directed mainly to the coast and not to the coffee-growing areas. “People choose to go to grow asparagus or blueberries. Only those of us who have coffee crops have been left and everyone harvests at the same time,” says Pérez.
prices would be reduced
Last year Brazil and Colombia, the main coffee producers in the world, registered a drop in their production due to weather events such as droughts and frosts that affected their harvests.
This reduced the supply of coffee in the market, which boosted the price of the Peruvian bean. The small producers They came to sell up to S/20 per kg of coffee. In the case of exports, the quintal reached US$230 on average.
“For this year too it is estimated that there will not be a full harvest in Brazil and therefore there is a prospect of good prices,” says Lorenzo Castillo. He calculates that the price could remain around US$200 per quintal, which would generate a little more than US$800 million in exports.
New rules in the EU
The European Union, destination of more than 50% of Peruvian coffee, is about to approve the regulation on deforestation-free products. This rule is one of the main concerns of local coffee growers, as it will require that products -including coffee- that enter this territory have a certificate that certifies that they do not affect the forests.
In this regard, the JNC indicated that “it is urgent to prepare a Plan for the Reconversion of Coffee Farming, associated with zero carbon, since otherwise exports will fall drastically“. In addition, he urged the Government to articulate an action plan.
In response, Jorge Figueroa, a specialist in the coffee chain from the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri), assured La República that a multisectoral work table will be set up until July at the latest to address this problem. The team will be integrated, in addition to Midagri, by the ministries of the Environment, Foreign Trade and Tourism, Production and Foreign Relations. It will also include coffee growers’ associations.
“It is an issue that is being worked on. In Europe (the norm) will come out between June or July and from there They are going to give 18 months as a transition period and from that it will be the demand”, he added.
About 6% of the agricultural area is coffee
Coffee is a source of direct employment for more than two million Peruvians throughout the agricultural production chain, according to the midagri.
The production of this grain involves 230,000 families that together manage close to 440,000 hectares, that is, 6% of the national agricultural area.
The main producing regions They are Amazonas, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Cusco, Huánuco, Junín, Pasco, Piura, Puno and San Martín.
In recent years, unroasted Arabica coffee has become almost 90% on average of traditional Peruvian agro-exports.
In terms of volume, coffee exports increased by 32.8% in 2022.
The word
Lorenzo Castillo, Manager of the JNC
“This year we calculate that the average price will be lower than last year, perhaps US$200 per quintal and, on average, between 4 and 4.8 million quintals in exports.”
Source: Larepublica
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