Colombia's coffee harvest up 41% in 2013

Colombia produced 10.9 million 60-kg bags of coffee in 2013, up 41 percent over the previous year, the National Federation of Coffee Growers said on Friday. The year 2013 "was certainly a period of great challenges for the coffee industry, but also of important achievements," the country's Caracol Radio reported in its website, quoting the federation's general manager Luis Genaro Munoz as saying. The harvest surge was a result of a plant renovation program aimed at increasing productivity and plant health in coffee production. Colombia is the world's leading producer of mild washed Arabica coffee. "Productivity recovery is undoubtedly the most significant, as the most productivity contributes to regaining competitiveness," Munoz said. Colombia's coffee export in 2013 stood at 9.7 million 60-kg bags, an increase of 35 percent year-on-year, he said. "We expect the average productivity will continue to increase in 2014, which will help compensate in part for the uncertain outlook of international prices," Munoz added.