Honduras set for record breaking crop

Coffee farmers in the Central American nation of Honduras are set to reap the rewards of their sustained effort to battle coffee rust, many industry insiders are predicting.

Forecasts for the 2015-16 season that we have seen suggest that Honduras is set to bounce back from the debilitating disease in boisterous fashion. The country is believed to be readying itself for a bumper crop of some 6.11 million bags, a haul which would see them become the biggest supplier of beans in Central America and the third largest in Latin America.

The predictions have been made by the US Department of Agriculture’s office in Tegucigalpa.

If the figure of 6.11m does turn out to be an accurate prediction, it will mark a remarkable rebound in terms of output from last season when coffee rust decimated plantations, farms and fields in ruthless fashion. Just a couple of years ago over 5.5m bags were collected, last season the number hovered around 3.85m.

 But thanks to the long-standing efforts of farmers, the damage wasn’t as bad as it could have been as the USDA bureau explains:

“Damage was reduced because Honduras has been carrying out research and produced leaf rust resistant coffee varieties, which producers have been using for about two decades.

“The replanting of new trees to replace the old ones…began three years ago.

“Those trees are starting to produce, and provide an increase in volume,” they said.

Impressively, the projections for this year’s haul would mark the largest ever crop of Honduran coffee since records began.

So for fans of Central American sourced arabica and purveyors of those fine, acerbic and fruity cups that come out of the Honduran Cup of Excellence with regularity – you’re in luck!

Photo: Stirling Noyes (Creative Commons)