Costa Rica Sees 2008/09 Coffee Harvest down 3.6 pct

Source: Reuters

San Jose, Costa Rica, June 9 - Costa Rica estimates it will produce 1.807 million 60-kg bags of coffee in the 2008/09 harvest, down 3.6 percent from the previous cycle due to the biannual nature of the crop, a top official from the national coffee institute ICAFE said on Monday.

Coffee trees usually produce less beans the year following a high-volume harvest.

Executive Director Ronald Peters revised down an earlier estimate for 2007/08 coffee production, saying Costa Rica will produce 1.875 million 60-kg bags this season.

Peters previously said Costa Rica would grow 1.93 million bags of coffee during the 2007/08 year, which begins in October.

The estimate for the upcoming season, based on a count of coffee flowers that will turn into cherries, came early this year because of early flowering, Peters told Reuters.