El Niño led to major losses for coffee farmers in El Salvador

El Niño caused a drought, which led to major losses of over 10,000 quintals of coffee in El Salvador.

According to local news, this means an estimated loss of US$8 million for the coffee sector.

Sergio Ticas, the head of El Salvador’s Coffee Association (Acafesal), said that these are rough estimates and the actual loss could be between 10,000 to 12,000 quintals.

Ticas explained that early rains at the start of the year caused the coffee plants to flower.

However, the delay in the regular rainy season, or ‘winter,’ stopped the coffee grains from developing properly, causing the loss.

This led to a loss of about 1,000 to 1,200 tons of ‘uva oro,’ a high-quality coffee grain, in the early months of the year.

Ticas also mentioned that the future is uncertain for coffee farmers because too much or too little water can harm coffee production.

This will affect the harvest for 2023-2024, which starts in October.

If El Niño doesn’t get worse, Acafesal hopes the production will be similar to the previous year, which was 876,315 quintals of ‘café oro uva,’ or 87,631.5 tons.

The 2024-2025 harvest goal is to reach one million quintals, or 100,000 tons.

Coffee farming is very important for El Salvador’s economy and provides jobs for many people.

However, unpredictable weather, like El Niño, is a big worry for coffee farmers everywhere.

El Niño causes hot and dry weather in Central America, often resulting in droughts that seriously harm farming.

This affects not only the farmers but the country’s income and economy.

Also, because of climate change, farmers must change their farming methods to be more resistant and sustainable.

The government and farming groups must support farmers adapting to these changes to ensure coffee farming can continue in El Salvador in the long run.