Panama coffee prices heading for 20% increase
(Newsroompanama.com) Your early morning jump start to the day is going to cost you a lot more in 2011.
Record rainfalls during the past year have dramatically reduced coffee production in Panama.
One major producer forecasts that prices for a pound of specialty coffee will rise as much as 20 percent in the coming months.
There are 62 coffee brands produced in Panama, mainly in Chiriquí including the famed Geisha coffee that was auctioned last year at a world record price of over $170 a pound.
A normal year's coffee harvest is 186,000 quintals. This year it is expected to fall to 156,000 quintals.
Damage to the leaves of plants which have become affected by mould is the primary cause.
************
Original Source: Newsroompanama.com
Date Retrieved: January 9, 2010