(QCOSTARICA) The national coffee harvest for the 2016-2017 season is expected to see a slight decline of 6.4% over the previous productive year, according to official estimates.
The Instituto del Café de Costa Rica (Icafé) – Coffee Institute of Costa Rica – expects some 2,069 million bushels will be harvested (corresponding to an equal number of 46 kilogram bags of coffee), compared with 2.211 million harvested in the 2015-2016 season.
Ronald Peters, executive director of Icafé considered that a reduction was expected for the current crop, due to the cyclicality of coffee production (high period and a low period).
The executive explained that, above all, the Los Santos (Dota, Tarrazú, Leon Cortes and some districts of Desamparados, Aserrí and Acosta) exhibit low production this season, as the harvest last season was excellent.
“… The regions of Turrialba and Orosi will increase their production, which will help compensate meaning that the difference will not be so great between the two seasons,” said Peters.
Payment. The minimum wage to coffee pickers for a cajuela (as a common basket) will be ¢924.65 according to the wage per unit set by the Ministry of Labour for the second half of this year.
Each bushel has 20 cajuela, so the total harvest of this year will be 41.38 million units, thus, coffee pickers see the a minimum of ¢383 billion colones distributed in earnings.
Peters explained that the amount that will be paid to coffee pickers will be higher, given that for this harvest pickers will be paid in excess of ¢1,000 colones per cajuela.
Source: La Nacion
