Colombian coffee grows despite challenges

The El Niño phenomenon and a recent transport strike took a toll on Colombian coffee production and exports during July. Although the adverse effects of El Niño had been experienced in previous months, July's production dropped even further as a result of the difficulty originated by the transport strike to reach collection centres. A total of 102,000 60-kilogram bags were produced during July, meaning a 25 per cent decrease compared to the 463,000 bags produced in July 2015. Year to date exports (January-July 2016) reached 7.6 million 60-kilogram bags. This represented a 1 per cent decrease compared to the 7.7 million bags produced during the same previous period. Nonetheless, total coffee production during the twelve months from August 2015 to July 2016 increased significantly. Between August 2015 and July 2016, coffee production reached more than 14.1 million 60-kilogram bags, meaning an 8 per cent increase compared to the 13.1 million bags produced between August 2014 and July 2015.