Differentiated coffee from El Salvador sells for $250 per quintal

According to the ISC, 60% of the coffee exported from El Salvador is differentiated, a category for organic, sustainable and gourmet.

Salvadoran coffee growers have managed to sell a quintal of differentiated coffee at $250, a price above the stock market average, according to the latest sector report of the Salvadoran Coffee Institute (ISC).

The report, published on September 6, states that 60% of the coffee exported in the 2023-2024 harvest qualified as differentiated, which includes gourmet, organic, sustainable, fair trade, natural and fine beans.

This is equivalent to $55.63 million of the more than $92.38 million exported by the sector between October 2023 and July 2024. The average price of differentiated coffee increased by 0.78 % in relation to the $248.17 reported in the 2022-2023 cycle, and is far from the $256.98 it cost in the 2021-2022 harvest.

The average price of differentiated coffee was sold 20 % (at least $42.4) above the average price quoted on the New York Stock Exchange, through Contract C, which as of July 2024 was $207.53.

Thirty-one percent of exported coffee was shipped under the “commercial” label, at an average price of $196.42 per quintal, 4.4% below the average of $205.58 of the previous cycle. The ISC reports that bean sales left income to producers of $28.9 million as of July 2024.

Processed coffee -soluble and roasted- represents only 2%, with exports exceeding $1.9 million. Meanwhile, inferior coffee occupies 6 % of the basket, with revenues of $5.8 million.

Exports in the red

The ISC reports that exports remain negative, with a drop of 29.5% in value and 26.4% in volume.

From October 2023 to July 2024, 413,720 quintals of coffee were shipped, for $92.3 million, whose income fell $38.7 million in relation to the $131 million reported in the same period of the 2022-2023 harvest.

According to the report, producers have stopped exporting 148,490 quintals in the current harvest compared to the 562,200 reported in the previous year.

The average price per quintal was $223.30, at least $9.88 (4.2 %) less than the $233.18 paid in the 2022-2023 crop.

The United States is the main buyer of Salvadoran grain, with a 49% share. The ISC reports that 202,218 quintals have been shipped, valued at $42.7 million, equivalent to a 29% reduction in revenues or 23% reduction in volume.

Source: Diario El Mundo