Nicaragua Coffee Needs US$227 Million More
NICARAGUA · COFFEE
Key Facts
- The country Nicaragua is a Central American country where coffee is a leading export and a source of rural jobs.
- Why it matters Coffee earned a record US$918.4 million in 2025, ranking third among merchandise exports outside free zones.
- What happened Coffee exports reached US$691 million by the end of September 2026, with the 2026-27 harvest now starting.
- What it means for you US duty on Nicaraguan goods outside the trade pact rises to 10% on 1 January 2027.
- Still open Passing the 2025 record needs about US$227 million of coffee shipped in October to December.
In Plain English
Coffee cherries, called café uva in Nicaragua, are the fruit picked from the tree, while green coffee, called café oro, is the dried bean that is exported. A quintal is the trade unit in which the central bank quotes prices and crop size, and the bank links 66 million cans of cherries to about 3 million quintals of green coffee.
CAFTA-DR is the free-trade agreement between the United States, the Dominican Republic and five Central American countries, including Nicaragua. The US Trade Representative, known as USTR, is the US government’s trade office, and it sets the Section 301 duties discussed below.
Nicaragua’s coffee exports reached US$691 million in the first nine months of 2026, and the central bank says the country can beat the record US$918.4 million of 2025. The figures come from the bank’s president, Ovidio Reyes Ramírez, who also set out the outlook for the 2026-27 harvest cycle that officials opened at a national ceremony on Saturday 24 October 2026.
For US coffee buyers the main numbers are the bank’s forecasts of about 3 million quintals of green coffee and an average price of US$294 per quintal, up from US$272 in 2025. US importers should also check two separate US duty measures on Nicaraguan goods, one of which applies only outside CAFTA-DR and rises from 0% to 10% on 1 January 2027.
What Happened
Reyes Ramírez spoke at Apanás, in the northern coffee department of Jinotega, at the national ceremony that opened the 2026-27 coffee harvest protection and security plan. The central bank’s transcript lists General Julio César Avilés, the army’s commander in chief, and Commissioner General Francisco Díaz, a co-director of the National Police, among those present.
He said coffee remains a pillar of the country’s exports, with more than 252,000 manzanas planted, more than 55,000 families in 60 municipalities and more than 500,000 direct and indirect jobs. He added that exports had reached US$691 million by the end of September and that the country will be able to beat the 2025 record by a wide margin, in his words.
On Thursday 29 October 2026 the bank published a summary of a television interview in which Reyes Ramírez repeated the US$691 million figure and the forecast of about 3 million quintals. He also repeated that the bank will keep the córdoba, the national currency, steady against the US dollar during 2027, a policy the bank says gives economic agents predictability.
The Numbers Behind the Harvest
Coffee exports were US$607.0 million in 2023, US$524.4 million in 2024 and US$918.4 million in 2025, a 75% jump in the record year, in the central bank’s published export series. In that table, which leaves out free-zone goods, only gold, at US$1.97 billion, and beef, at US$960.8 million, earned more in 2025.
The bank’s July 2026 monetary policy report put coffee exports at US$564.1 million for January to May 2026, one of the products it named as driving a 38.4% rise in merchandise exports. The gap between that figure and the US$691 million at the end of September implies about US$127 million of shipments from June to September.
To pass the 2025 record, shipments in October to December would need to exceed about US$227 million, a calculation from the bank’s own figures. The bank projects a crop above 66 million cans of coffee cherries, which it equates to about 3 million quintals of green coffee, sold through 110 exporting companies and organizations to 55 countries.
Why It Matters
Coffee ranks third in the central bank’s 2025 table of merchandise exports, behind gold and beef, although free-zone goods such as textiles are counted separately, and the bank says it supports more than 55,000 growing families. The bank also credits fuel subsidies for holding down costs and the steady córdoba for giving exporters certainty, while naming El Niño, the Pacific weather pattern, as a challenge that is forcing changes in production systems.
Security is part of the plan, with the army and police assigned to protect farms, transport and sales, according to the bank’s president. Earlier coverage of the drought and fertilizer risks to this crop shows why growers are watching the weather, and the Nicaragua country page collects the wider economic record.
What It Means for You
Two US trade measures touch Nicaraguan goods. A duty set by the US Trade Representative in notices published on 12 and 29 December 2025 applies only to goods that do not originate under CAFTA-DR, and it is 0% in 2026, 10% for goods entered on or after 1 January 2027 and 15% from 1 January 2028.
A separate notice published on 28 July 2026, in a trade investigation into forced-labor import bans, set a 12.5% duty on products of Nicaragua with exemptions listed in its annexes, and its discussion names coffee among the products that commenters wanted kept exempt. Importers should confirm the tariff code, the origin papers and the current rate with a customs broker before contracting 2026-27 coffee.
What Is Not Known
The central bank does not say how much of the US$691 million went to the United States, so the US share cannot be read from these statements. It also does not say which price benchmark lies behind its US$272 and US$294 per quintal figures.
It is not known whether October to December shipments will pass the roughly US$227 million needed to beat the 2025 record. The size and quality of the crop also depend on how El Niño affects the harvest.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much coffee did Nicaragua export in 2026?
Nicaragua’s coffee exports reached US$691 million by the end of September 2026, the central bank’s president said. The 2025 record was US$918.4 million.
How big is the 2026-27 coffee crop forecast?
The central bank projects more than 66 million cans of coffee cherries, about 3 million quintals of green coffee. It expects an average price of US$294 per quintal, against US$272 in 2025.
Does a US tariff apply to Nicaraguan coffee?
A December 2025 duty applies only to Nicaraguan goods that do not originate under CAFTA-DR, rising from 0% to 10% on 1 January 2027. A separate 12.5% duty set in July 2026 has exemptions, so importers should check coffee codes.
Who buys Nicaragua’s coffee?
The central bank says Nicaraguan coffee reaches 55 countries through 110 exporting companies and organizations. It does not break the US$691 million down by buyer.
Sources: Central Bank of Nicaragua, president’s speech, 24 October 2026; Central Bank of Nicaragua, coffee exports note, 24 October 2026; Central Bank of Nicaragua, interview note, 29 October 2026; Central Bank of Nicaragua, Nicaragua in Figures 2025; Central Bank of Nicaragua, monetary policy report, July 2026; USTR notice of action, 12 December 2025; USTR notice of implementation, 29 December 2025; USTR notice of actions, 28 July 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief