Honduras eyes record coffee exports of 7.2 million bags

Honduras expects to export a record 7.2 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee during the current 2016-17 harvest, as trees planted in the wake of a fungal outbreak three years ago boost production, the national coffee institute IHCAFE said on Tuesday. Honduras is Central America's top coffee producer, and like other regional producers is recovering from a severe outbreak of the tree-killing fungus roya over the past few seasons.
The expected 2016-17 export volume would be well above the latest estimate of 5.12 million bags for the current 2015-16 cycle, said Adilson Avila, general manager of the institute. "Production and exports in the upcoming harvest will rise due to the renovation of farms after the roya damage. The new plants have higher productivity," Avila said. The coffee season runs from October through September.