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The climate crisis and the effects of inflation are causing losses in Mexico's coffee industry. According to Government calculations, more than 600,000 hectares of crops were affected during 2023.
Mexico is the ninth largest coffee producer in the world and coffee growers are going through a complex situation, with significant losses and increases in prices. The situation has pushed them to look for alternatives so as not to slow down their sales.
According to the Agri-Food and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP) of the Mexican Government, In 2023, farmers reported losses of up to 30%. The organization indicated that the area planted with coffee cherry fell by 0.42% annually last year, reaching 698,035 hectares, according to information replicated by EFE.
The drought, which keeps 61.59% of the territory in a situation that ranges from moderate to exceptional, complicates the situation in Chiapas, the southern state of the country, which has the highest production. There, the National Water Commission (Conagua) reported 50.7% of the surface “abnormally dry”, 22.9% with moderate drought and 8% with severe drought.
Coffee farmers also suffer the effects of inflation, which closed in 2023 with a general increase of 4.66% and 5.66% in agriculture. However, although consumers receive coffee at higher prices, farmers have to sell 40 pesos (about $2.33) per kilo of coffee due to pressure from large merchants, explained Alonzo Gómez Pérez, an indigenous Tzeltal coffee producer. conventional.
Regarding exports, unroasted or decaffeinated coffee fell 67.37% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2023, reaching $24.9 million, according to the Data México registry of the Ministry of Economy.
This despite the 7.02% annual increase reported by the SIAP in production, exceeding 1.05 million tons.
Latin America's coffee industry is the largest in the world and represents 61% of production. Given the climate crisis affecting the region and the various economic scenarios, farmers are opening their markets to specialty coffees, an option to address the problems they are suffering.
With EFE
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