America, Asia and Europe are the continents to which 5,000 Costa Rican coffee growers manage to export quality coffee, even in times of crisis as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Practically between 50 to 60% is exported to the United States, 30% to all European countries, and 10% goes to Asia; specifically to South Korea, Japan, China and other eastern countries.
From March, even with the emergence of the Pandemic and until today, our nation has not stopped the export of coffee. Initially, there rather was, a significant increase in exports as a result of which clients in the United States and Europe wanted to make sure stocking the coffee in their cellars so as to roast it and have it on time for their customers.
The coffee sector is expecting (in the context of Pandemic) that precisely now, occur the strongest export volume for the country, running from May to August. Coffee growers and exporters have not stopped working day by day, exporting every week and of course, this is beneficial for the country, but specially for our coffee-producing regions
Following the evolution of the current Pandemic, there has been a change in the behavior of consuming countries, according to global data. The greatest consumption of coffee is no longer in coffee shops but in supermarkets, where demand has increased considerably. The sale of coffee in supermarkets and even on the Internet increased, due to the electronic market offers.
Some interesting data about our coffee producers is that 30% are women, almost 90% of production is exported and the remaining 10% is marketed nationally. In general terms, Icafé (national coffee institute) reported the shipment of approximately 150 containers weekly between the months of March and June to the main consuming destinations for Costa Rican grain.
In a report sent to the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic on measures to deal with the health emergency caused by the Pandemic, Icafé indicated that the ports where the product arrives maintain rigorous sanitary measures: New York, which represents 12% of exports to U.S; Oakland or Baltimore, which make up 35% and 13% respectively. For its part, Belgium – second country in importance for reception of Costa Rican coffee – maintains normal operations in its port of Antwerpen.
