Colombia coffee production likely to miss 2020 target

Subject

Coffee production.

Significance

Colombia’s coffee production reached record levels in both 2015 and 2016. Investments in new technologies and higher-yielding crop varieties, along with a reduction in displacement and other detrimental impacts of insurgent violence, all suggest that output will increase further during 2017 and beyond. Yet in the context of problematic climatic conditions and low coffee prices, it appears highly unlikely that Colombia will achieve a planned 40% boost in output by 2020.

Impacts

• Expansion of the sector will provide a boost to Colombian smallholders who produce approximately 95% of the country’s coffee.
• The spread of armed groups into areas formerly occupied by the FARC will threaten production gains in those areas.
• Efforts to mechanise parts of the sector, especially harvesting, will likely reduce unskilled employment opportunities at large plantations.