Danger In The Panamanian Coffee Market
(Panama-Guide) - El Siglo - The coffee market in Panama could be affected by the decision made by growers in the province of Chiriqui to sell their output to businesses in Costa Rica in search of better prices to cover the high costs of production. This year 50% of the coffee being grown in the province of Chiriqui is being sold on the Costa Rican market, where they pay $8.50 compared to Panamanian companies that offer only $7.00 dollars. Coffee farmers say their business is going through a crisis that has been caused by multiple factors, such as labor shortages, climate change, the proliferation of pests, and it is urgent to find new ways to return to profitability.
Quintin Pitti, the producer of Renacimiento Coffee, says labor shortages have caused great losses, and they have only been able to gather about 90 cans per day, when in past years they have gathered 500, a situation that requires the producers to sell their production at the best price. Renacimiento is grown in about five thousand plants per hectare with a production cost that ranges at about $2,000 dollars per year.
In the province of Chiriqui the organizations in charge of purchasing the coffee are APRE, Eleta Café, Cafe Balboa, and Cafe Duran. For his part, Berísimo Martinez, the regional director of the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) also expressed concern about the large number of coffee producers who have sold their crops to Costa Rica, where the prices are better than in Panama.
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Original Source: Panama-Guide
Date Retrieved: November 20, 2010.
