Gobal Coffee Production is Showing Some Strain

Posted on February 12, 2010 by

Tongues have been wagging lately about the drop in global coffee production this year.  Business Week mentioned it last week, and the ICO is reporting a decrease of 3.3 million bags (of Arabica) over the same period last year.  Virmax Cafe often updates their Twitter account with rainfall status in Colombia (or lack thereof), and posted on Flickr this graph displaying coffee production in Colombia between 1998-2009.

As you can see their totals for 2009 are the lowest they’ve been in over ten years.  The chart below (from the ICO) displays total production globally between the years 2000 and 2009.

At first glance it seems like the total numbers for the ’08/09 season are quite a bit higher than ’00/01, but when you look closer you notice that it’s almost exclusively Robusta that’s pushing that number higher.  The good stuff is seeing a drop in production across the board, with some exceptions:

  • Peru
  • Rwanda
  • Timor-Leste
  • Domincan Republic
  • Ethiopia
  • Honduras
  • Jamaica
  • Nicaragua

What are the causes?  It may be related to climate change.  Coffee is pretty sensitive, requiring specific amounts of sunlight and rainfall.  It is also highly susceptible to a wide range of pests and disease, some of which may be thriving in the more temperate conditions.  “Leaf Rust” is one example:

“Broca” is another.  It’s an insect that bores it’s way into the cherry and lays eggs, destroying the crop from the inside out.

Something is going on here and it could be bad news for us all.  It may become increasingly difficult for roasters to source (or afford) high quality beans from their favorite origins in the very near future.

  • Samuel

    The coffee berry borer is a weevil. I’ve considered taking this on in the future as one of my focal organisms. The control problems are largely similar to the ones faced by fruit growers trying to control the plum curculio. Anyway, it is a real nasty problem, the only good control being an insecticide. It’d be great to see an alternative control program based on integrated pest management techniques that capitalize on the ecology and history of the pest, rather than a blanket approach that relies on an acutely toxic chemical (endosulfan).

  • http://www.virmax.com Alejandro

    Samuel,

    The use of Endosulfan is prohibited in Colombia (though some farms use it, smuggling it from Ecuador or Venezuela). Since CBB feeds and reproduces in ripe, overripe and dry cherries the best way to control it is actually using IPM techniques: continually harvesting ripe cherries, not allowing any overripe or dry cherries on the trees or on the ground. That way you interrupt its feeding and reproduction cycle. The problem with IPM is that it’s expensive as it requires a lot of manual labor, therefore adding to production costs.

  • Anonymous

    Hmmm…This gives me a lot of good ideas…if they work out, I’ll come back and share! Thanks again!

  • http://carpetgeeks.com Natural Area Rugs

    Hmmm…This gives me a lot of good ideas…if they work out, I’ll come back and share! Thanks again!