Coffee exports from Costa Rica fell 12.2%t in February compared with the same month last year, reaching 152,621 60-kg bags, the country’s national coffee institute, ICAFE, said on Friday.
ICAFE said exports through the first five months of the current 2012/2013 harvesting season totaled 317,726 60-kg bags, down 2.6 percent from the same five-month period in the 2011/2012 season.
“This drop does not signal any change in particular, as it is too early to tell if the harvest is larger or smaller than last year’s,” said Eric Thormaehlen, president of the country’s National Coffee Exporters Chamber.
“It could be explained by buyers making purchases a bit later than usual,” he added.
The coffee season in Mexico and Central America, which together produce more than one-fifth of the world’s arabica beans, is calculated as running from October through September.