SAN JOSE: Costa Rican coffee growers exported 11.8% fewer beans in June compared with the same month last year, the country’s coffee institute ICAFE said on Friday.

Coffee shipments for the month totaled 146,581 60-kg bags, down from 162,222 bags in June last year.

With three months to go before the end of coffee season, which runs from October to September, accumulated exports for the current 2021/2022 cycle total 772,521 bags, down by about 1/10th from the same time last year.

Costa Rica, which exports around 80% of its coffee crop, registered a new high in average coffee prices in June, hitting $352.53 per 60-kg bag, according to Reuters calculation based on ICAFE data.

The higher prices come amid a smaller harvest this season, partially due to its being an off-year in Costa Rica’s biennial cycle, where one big harvest is followed by a smaller one, and partially due to newer trees that have not yet reached their full growing potential.