Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
the struggle to subsist and make coffee a profitable activity for thousands of small producers will continue in this 2021 due to the multiple problems that hit the sector for several years, such as debt, low prices, And that for this harvest are added the lack of cutters to collect ripe fruit, the deteriorated tertiary streets to access the farms and with a low global demand.
At the start of the 2020-2021 harvest, the Honduran Coffee Institute (Ihcafé) estimated that production this season would reach 8,200,000 quintals, but for many experts in the sector just about 7.2 million quintals will be reached of the golden grain.
The above is due to the problems that producers have to get cutters who in previous years entered from Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaraguaa; but due to the pandemic situation for covid-19 coffee growers have to pay L600 for a quick test for each person they want to hire for their farms, according to Jordi Pinto, representative of coffee growers in the west of the country.
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The producer also noted that the passage of storms Eta and Iota severely damaged the road infrastructure they had in the departments of Copán, Ocotepeque, Lempira, Santa Barbara and Intibucá. “We have gone back 15 years, tertiary roads are andextremely damaged, “he said.
Pinto highlighted the work being done by the National Coffee Fund, which began in December to restore access to the farms. “At the moment we are in the middle of a cut we are in 80% of being able to enable coffee areas. Now we are making a superhuman effort to get out of this problem. Coffee production had been estimated at 8,200,000, but we will not reach to this production, we are reported daily falling coffee because there is no labor, because here in the west we cut with people from Guatemala, ”he explained.
Dagoberto Suazo, president of La Central coffee cooperatives of Honduras (La Central), has pointed out that the rehabilitation of the streets is being achieved according to the plan executed between the Government and the coffee organizations to remove the harvest.
Suazo pointed out that there are more than 250 machines that are operating in the 15 departments producing coffee to reduce losses and be able to enter the currencies that it needs the country in these times of crisis.
debts
Fredy Pastrana, producer and coffee representative from the east of the country, expressed that the situation is dramatic. “We have been warning for years that the sector is not generating profit, debts continue to grow: there are more than 63,000 producers they owe it to the bank, ”he lamented.
Pastrana has criticized the “abandonment” of coffee institutions on the issue of debt and the lack of support from the National Congress, as long ago they proposed a financing scheme to benefit coffee growers with interest rates low to 10 years and the same has not been taken into account by deputies.
He also indicated that the price at which coffee is sold in Honduras is much lower than in neighboring countries. “We have left the producers alone, who continue to harvest and borrow,” he said producer of Paradise. Finally, Pastrana called on the president of the republic to hold an emergency meeting and an answer can be given to producers who are in crisis.
Víctor Barahona, manager of the National Central Cooperatives Limited (Uniocoop), comment that part of the crisis begins with the few funds allocated to the agricultural sector in the General Budget of the Republic. “If they review the budgets of the last 10 years of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG) no support will be found. The same L2 billion was approved for agriculture. There is little investment in agriculture, where food is produced and foreign exchange is generated in exports, “he said.
Barahona stated that the issue of agriculture and coffee must have a policy change to improve the country’s productivity, as well as start improving the marketing of coffee in the international market with marketing experts looking for better prices for coffee national and producers.
low demand
Miguel Pon, executive director of the Honduran Coffee Exporters Association (Adecafeh), noted that coffee exports have fallen due to delays in coffee farms due to road damage within the coffee communities, but also commented that there is something that puts them in alert, and is the low demand internationally.
“It’s very difficult to place coffee right now,” warn Pose.
The exporter has noted that this harvest will be complicated as it is now where the true impact of covid-19 will be felt andn Honduran coffee growing. The executive director of Adecafeh indicated that in reality the covid-19 has not impacted in a big way, but where this impact is being felt is on the outside by the containment measures that are being giving back to Europe.
“We have to see what will happen to the pandemic worldwide, the whole chain depends on it, it will be useless for the price of coffee to be high if it cannot be placed. There is hope with vaccines, but that will take his time, “he said.
On the destination of exports, Posa stressed that to date the United States is the country that is most important grain; in addition, Colombia is also buying inferior quality Honduran coffee for blending.
Finally, Posa expressed the need to pay attention to the regrowth that is taking place in the country, as people are relaxing a lot and are in doubt about what will happen to the country this January and February if cases continue to rise.
Last December, the price of coffee rose again, which has motivated producers to remove their crops, but it is unknown whether this trend will continue.
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Keys to the crisis 1. Lack of cutters In many areas of the country the fall in grain is being reported, as producers have not been able to hire coffee cutters from neighboring countries as in previous years due to the high cost this represents, as it is they have to practice quick tests. 2. Hurricane damage The passage of storms Eta and Iota through the national territory in November severely damaged the tertiary roads to access the various farms in the 15 departments of the country, with those in the east and west most affected by the destruction. 3. Low demand Exporters have noted that due to the global pandemic situation, international demand for coffee has dropped dramatically, so placing Honduran coffee abroad is causing export figures to fall. |