TEGUCIGALPA: Honduran coffee exports fell 15% year-on-year in December, the national coffee institute said on Monday.

Honduras, Central America’s largest exporter of aromatic coffee, in December sold 252,656 60-kg bags of coffee abroad, down from the 296,539 a year earlier, according to preliminary data from institute IHCAFE.

So far this season, 345,521 bags of coffee have been exported, or 6.26% of the estimated total exports for the 2022/23 season. Honduras’ coffee season begins in October and runs until the following September.

Honduras expects to export around 5.52 million bags of coffee in the current season.

Arabica coffee extends rebound, sugar also up

Average coffee prices in the season so far have inched up 2% from the previous season, according to IHCAFE data.

Coffee exports in Central America, a major producer of the world’s higher-end arabica beans, have been hit by global price instability.