Nov. 22 - Coffee exports from Colombia, Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Central America were up 2.2% in October, the first month of the 2007-08 crop cycle, to reach 1,821,905 bags of 60 kilograms each, Guatemala's National Coffee Association reported Thursday.
This compares to total exports of 1,781,905 bags in October last year, said the association, known as Anacafe.
Total coffee exports from the nine countries in the now-complete 2006-07 harvest year (October-September) ended at 28,223,489 bags, up from 26,682,803 in the previous year, Anacafe said last month.
All nine countries produce, almost exclusively, washed arabica coffee, also known as the mild arabica exports in international coffee statistics.
Mexico and the five Central American nations - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua - started releasing combined export statistics on a monthly basis as part of a regional cooperation program a few years ago. The regional partnership has since come to include Colombia, Peru and the Dominican Republic as well.
The group now represents between 85% and 90% of total washed arabica exports from Latin America, and between 75% and 80% of total washed arabica exports worldwide. Figures are revised on a monthly basis up to several crop cycles later.