Tegucigalpa, June 9 - Honduras could export up to 3.53 million 60-kg bags of coffee in the 2009/10 cycle, 9.6 percent more than the year-ago period as growers invest in farms, the national coffee institute said on Tuesday.
Marcial Flores, a director at the institute known as Ihcafe, told Reuters the 2008/09 coffee year, which began in October, would close with 3.22 million bags of exports, slightly less than previously forecast.
Flores said the 2009/10 exports could come in between 3.45 and 3.53 million bags, up from the previous coffee year because of increased fertilization and investment in farms as part of the country's push to increase production.
Honduras is Central America's second biggest coffee grower after Guatemala.
Flores also said tight supplies from South America will raise prices, encouraging farmers to meet demand.
"I think we are going to have very good prices. Brazil is predicted to have export supply problems," Flores said.
As prices rise, producers have enough to cover their costs and reinvest in their farms, he said.
He said exports in the 2008/09 season were lower than originally expected because of increased smuggling of Honduran coffee across the border into Guatemala, where beans can fetch higher prices.
Guatemala has cultivated a reputation as a specialty brand and its coffee can be sold at a premium, while Honduran coffee often fetches lower prices because it is considered lower quality by traders.