Nicaraguan coffee exports plunged by about 62 percent in October, the first month of the current 2015/2016 harvesting season, compared with the same month last year, the national export center Cetrex said on Monday. Coffee shipments in October totalled 37,605 60-kg bags. While Cetrex did not provide an explanation for the fall, the head of the country's coffee exporter's association AEC said October's exports had not yet been included in the tally, and that the export figure for the month comprised the tail end of the previous season's exports.
AEC President Jose Angel Buitrago said October's exports would be factored into shipments in the coming months. The season runs from October through September. Coffee exports from the Central American nation, one of the region's smaller producers, edged 0.2 percent lower during the previous 2014/2015 season. The coffee season in Central America and Mexico together produce about one-fifth of the world's arabica beans.