Costa Rica imports coffee as rains reduce crop

Costa Rica, traditionally a producer of coffee, has stepped up bean imports over the past three years to meet local demand as rainfall reduced the country’s output, according to broker Escritorio Carvalhaes.

Coffee output in Costa Rica was below the 1.87 million bags produced in the 2007-08 season in the last three seasons, data on the website of the US Department of Agriculture show.

Production may be lower again this year, with the USDA forecasting a crop of 1.64 million bags. The Central American country’s coffee imports may be 150,000 bags this season, up from 15,000 bags in 2008-09, the department’s data shows.

Source: Bloomberg