Honduran coffee exports could come in as low as 3.14 million 60-kg bags, or 11 percent below previous forecasts, the general manager of the national coffee institute said on Tuesday. IHCAFE had previously forecast exports would be 3.53 million 60-kg bags in the 2009/10 season.
Heavy rains in parts of the country affected the flowering on some coffee trees. Honduran coffee is also sometimes smuggled to Guatemala where it gets higher prices. Flores said IHCAFE's early estimate for the 2010/11 season forecast exports of 3.45 million 60-kg bags.