Colombia's coffee output lowest in 30 years

Colombia's coffee production was the lowest in three decades last year due to adverse weather conditions and low fertiliser use, the National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC) said.

Annual coffee production fell from 11.5 million 60-kg bags in 2008 to 7.8 million bags last year, a drop of close to 32 percent, FNC said in a statement Thursday.

Last year's coffee output - a marked departure from mid-decade, when production was relatively stable at roughly 11 million bags annually - stood at its lowest level since the end of the 1970s.

Coffee exports last year were also adversely affected by the drop in output, falling 28.82 percent relative to 2008 to 7.9 million bags, also the lowest total in three decades.

But the FNC said 2009 was an 'atypical' year that will not be repeated.

'In 2010, the difficulties of last year will not be a cause for concern,' the federation said, adding that expectations of improved weather conditions and 100,000 hectares of coffee tree plantation will help production levels recover.

Source name: Sify News