Colombian Coffee Production Up 9% in August

Colombia produced 1.29 million bags of coffee last month, a 9% increase over the 1.18 bags produced in August 2016, according to the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia.

The federation cited good weather conditions for the higher yield, and the August results mark a continuation of the overall growth trend seen during the past year — even on top of a record-high harvest in 2016.

Overall, in the past 12 months from September 2016 through August 2017, production is up 3% to 14.4 million bags compared to the 14.0 million bags in the previous year.

Each bag contains 60 kilograms of coffee beans, and the bulk of the harvest is exported abroad. In this respect, the August results were not as favorable. Only 1.16 million bags of Colombian coffee were exported last month compared to 1.18 million bags in August 2016.

Exports remain up over the past 12 months, however. From September 2016 through August 2017, Colombia exported 13.3 million bags, a jump of 8% from the 12.4 bags exported during the prior 12 months.