Guatemala ready for new President Otto Perez Molina and reporting a slight smaller coffee crop

As I traveled through a big part of Guatemala last week, I could see a country and a people ready for a new and promising economic and social scenario. The election of former Military General Perez Molina has brought great hope for a much better civil security situation.

People and companies believe they will now be able to work and progress without the extreme urban and organized crime violence experienced in the last 2 governments, especially under Alvaro Colon’s mandate.

The countries infrastructure, the quality of the companies and the volume of new investment waiting for this scenario of opportunity are more than enough to promote growth, more jobs and better economic distribution.

Guatemala is certainly one of the most beautiful tourist and historic site destinations of the planet. Guatemalans are very hospitable and proud of their country and heritage, and they also have some “FANTASTIC” coffee beans!

During my stay in Guatemala I visited coffee producers, exporters, Coops, Anacafe and the Wolthers & Vittrup Office where I cupped some new crop coffees. Although Guatemala suffered from a long and dramatic rainy season that ended 2 weeks ago, I did not see or hear about

damages to coffee trees or this crop’s quality. In fact, the new samples that I cupped were of excellent quality.

The negative effects of the rains and floods tended to be structural as some bridges were destroyed and many roads blocked by landslides. Most of the road network is up and running and many temporary bridges have been put up to flow the crops and population traffic. Patience has become paramount as it might take many hours and in some cases days to cover small stretches following miles of truck and bus keus.

 

 

On the other hand, the volume of coffee to be harvested showed mixed results, from the same as last crop to 12 % lower. While official sources defended a 3.7 million bag exportable harvest, some exporters and coops only saw between 3.3 to 3.6 million bags. Personally, from my stops at farms/fincas and based on my own staff’s opinion, 3.5 – 3.6 could be the reality.

It is also important to point out that with better prices through this year and the current pricing on new crop sales, plantations look good and the trees will be ready for a better crop in volume for 2012/13.

 

The message this time is of excellent quality, slightly reduced volume this crop but improving for next year and a fantastic opportunity to deal with great partners in business.

Viva Guate,
C B Wolthers

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