• REBOUND: Mexican coffee production saw a small rebound of 5.8% during the 2018/19 crop year after hitting rock bottom during the 2015/16 crop year, according to FIRA, a Mexican government development bank that offers credit and support to several sectors including agriculture.
• TONNES: Up in the world’s top ten coffee producing countries in the world, the total production of coffee cherries in Mexico reached 910,000 tonnes during the 2018/19 crop year. This is up from the 860,000 tonnes in 2017/2019 but way down from the 1.43 million tonnes recorded in 2008/09.
• RUST: “Starting in 2012/13, the harvested area (in Mexico) was reduced at a higher rate due to the presence of coffee rust”, said FIRA in its latest report. A fungus that directly attacks the plant, coffee rust is the most economically important coffee disease in the world.
• VARIETIES: Around 96% percent of coffee production in Mexico is shade-grown arabica, while only 3 to 4% is sun-grown robusta coffee. With some farmers in opposition, food multinational Nestlé is building a USD 200 million plant in the Gulf State of Veracruz that will mostly source robusta.
