Colombian coffee production up 18% in March

Colombia, the world's leading producer of mild washed Arabica coffee, produced a total of 944,000 60-kilogram bags of coffee in March 2016. This is an 18 per cent increase compared to the 800,000 bags produced in March 2015. Year-to-date production was nearly 3.2 million bags, a 9 per cent increase compared to the 2.9 million bags produced between January and March 2015, the Colombian Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC) said in a statement. During the past 12 months (April 2015 – March 2016), coffee production reportedly increased 17 per cent, reaching 14.4 million 60-kilogram bags. So far this coffee year (October 2015 – March 2016), Colombian coffee production was 7.3 million bags, an 18 per cent increase compared to the total bags produced between October 2014 and March 2015. Despite these positive results, the FNC warned that the repercussions of El Niño on Colombian coffee growing will begin to appear in April.