Coffee exports from Honduras rose 52 percent in July compared with the same month last year, the country's national coffee institute IHCAFE said on Friday, as exporters seek to lock in stronger returns amid speculation that prices may fall in the near-term. Shipments totaled 349,450 60-kg bags in July, IHCAFE said.
"July exports rose because of instability in the price of coffee in the international market and fears from Honduran exporters that prices will soon fall," said Salvador Melghem, vice president of the coffee farmers association AHPROCAFE. Melghem added that August and September exports would likely fall due to low inventories at export houses.
August exports are expected to total 37,777 bags, IHCAFE said in a preliminary estimate, which would mark a drop of nearly 74 percent compared to the same month last year. Coffee exports through the first 10 months of the current 2013/2014 harvesting season totaled 3.97 million bags, down 4.3 percent compared with the same 10-month period during the previous 2012/2013 season, according to IHCAFE data.
In May, IHCAFE lowered its exports forecast for the current season to 4.2 million bags from 4.6 million bags, due to coffee smuggling to Guatemala where beans can command a higher price as well as damage caused by the tree-killing fungus roya. Exports during the previous season totaled 4.2 million bags. Central America's five major coffee producers, along with Mexico, are grappling with damage caused by roya, also known as leaf rust, which has depressed output across the region. The coffee season in Central America and Mexico, which together produce more than one-fifth of the world's arabica beans, runs from October through September.