Colombia's Coffee Output 2011 Target At 9.5M Bags

Colombia's Coffee Output 2011 Target At 9.5M Bags

Colombia's coffee federation is leaving unchanged its
production target for the year despite a plunge in output in April spawned by
torrential rains that have damaged some crops.
Luis Genaro Munoz, the head of Colombia's coffee federation known as
Fedecafe, said Wednesday that the production target remains at 9.5 million
60-kilogram bags for the year. Munoz expects production to reach 4.5 million
bags in the first half of the year and 5 million bags in the last six months of
2011.
Fedecafe continues to eye an ambitious hike in output for 2012, with Munoz
projecting that output could reach 11 million bags next year and 12 million
bags in 2013.
Colombia's coffee production fell 19% in April from a year earlier to 523,000
bags. In 2010, Colombia produced 8.9 million bags, a 14% increase from the
previous year but short of its 9 million-bag output target. Coffee exports,
meanwhile, were almost flat at 7.82 million bags.
Heavy torrential rains in the last months of 2010 continued into this year,
hampering production and damaging Colombia's already shaky infrastructure
network. The rainy season has also generated an increase in a humidity-induced
fungus known as roya, which has damaged some crops.