Exports in the first eleven months of the 2016/17 harvest totaled US$17.6 million, 53% more than anything sold to the Asian country in the 2015/16 cycle.
One of the main benefits of exporting grain to Japan is that the average price paid for coffee is higher than the amount paid in other markets.
According to figures from the Center for Exports, “… in the 2016-2017 cycle the value of a hundredweight of gold grain was US$171.4, almost 5% higher than the average price of all coffee sold in that period, which was US$163.3.”
Although the Japanese market represents only 3.6% of the total market for Nicaraguan coffee, this proportion has been increasing steadily since the 2014/15 cycle, when it stood at 1.52%.
Elnuevodiario.com.ni reports that the Association of Special Coffees of Nicaragua (ACEN), commented: “…Japan is a market with a lot of potential for our country. It is also a segment that is very demanding, which is reflected in the compensation of purchase prices, which are well above those of the New York Stock Exchange.”
Article originally appeared on Today Nicaragua and is republished here with permission.
