Ecuador: Coffee Annual
Ecuador’s coffee production in marketing year (MY) 2015/16 (April/March) is forecast at 309,000 bags (60-kg per bag) on a Green Bean Equivalent (GBE) basis, up 17,000 bags or six percent compared to our MY 2014/15 estimate. We estimate coffee production in MY 2014/15 at 292,000 bags, up 33 percent compared to MY 2013/14 levels. The increase in production is attributable to ongoing recovery from the MY 2012/13 coffee leaf rust disease outbreak. Total domestic coffee consumption in MY 2015/16 is forecast at 268,000 bags GBE, up by 1,000 bags or less than one percent compared to our MY 2014/15 estimate of 267,000 bags. Exports of coffee in MY 2015/16 are forecast at 895,000 bags GBE, down 30,000 bags or three percent compared to our MY 2014/15 estimate of 925,000 bags. The MY 2014/15 estimate is down 85,000 bags, or nine percent compared to MY 2013/14 levels. The drop is attributable to lingering effects of the earlier coffee leaf rust outbreak.