Bogota, Jan. 18 - Colombia exported coffee worth $1.9 billion in 2007, the highest figure in the last decade, driven by higher prices and improved productivity, a new report released this week by the National Federation of Coffee Growers said.
"The year ended with a lot of positive news, including a recovery in production and exports, an improvement in quality and a good price," the report said. The 8% rise in the average daily export price for Colombian coffee compared with 2006, however, was offset by a 9.7% appreciation in the Colombian peso against the dollar over the course of the year and increased costs for coffee growers. Colombia produced 12.6 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee in 2007, 4% up from 2006, said the report, which was released earlier this week. The Federation of Coffee Growers, or Fedecafe, attributed the production rise to its incentive scheme to encourage farmers to replace old, unproductive coffee trees.
"This is the biggest harvest of the last 10 years, the result of improved productivity coming from the program to renovate old coffee farms," the report said. This is the biggest harvest of the last 10 years, the result of the renovation incentive program. Coffee accounted for 24% of the country's agricultural gross domestic product in 2007. Colombia is the world's largest producer of mild washed arabica coffee, with annual output of between 11 million and 12 million 60-kilogram bags in recent years, and is the third-largest producer overall after Brazil and Vietnam.