The harvest was slow in December due to delays in ripening in high-altitude areas, said Miguel Pon, the head of ADECAFEH. Labor shortages were also a factor, he added.
Shipments from Central America's largest coffee exporter totaled 356,598 60-kg sacks in December, compared with 422,141 sacks in the same month in 2017, according to preliminary figures from the national coffee institute (IHCAFE).
Exports for the 2018-2019 crop are expected to climb 13 percent over the 2017-2018 crop due to increased productivity at farms, according to IHCAFE.
Like other producers in Central America and Mexico, farms in Honduras are still recovering from a bout of the roya fungus four years ago, which hampered exports. The harvest runs from October to September.