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Tag: Coffee

Costa Rica’s Exports Up 9 Percent

Written by Costa Rica Las Villas on . Posted in Agriculture, Costa Rica Business, Costa Rica economy.

Costa Rica’s Exports Up 9 Percent / Daily News / News / Costa Rica Newspaper, The Tico Times.

The Foreign Trade Promotion Office (Procomer) announced Wednesday that Costa Rica’s exports have increased 9 percent this year when compared to the first nine months of 2009. From Jan. through Sept. of this year, the country has raked in over $7 billion in sales, compared to $6.5 billion at this point last year.

Procomer reports that 75 percent of all exports are industrial products, 23 percent agricultural products and 2.4 percent fish and livestock. Industrial exports accounted for $205 million more in 2010 than last year, boosted primarily by a 96 percent increase in the export of electric cables and a 36 percent increase in both tires and electrical switches and breakers. Microprocessors and other electric components continue to bring in the largest amounts of revenue, accounting for over $1.4 billion in sales so far this year.

Regarding food and agricultural products, the export of bananas, pineapples and coffee – historically among Costa Rica’s leading exports – all improved, led by a 23 percent increase in the shipping of bananas. In addition to these principal exports, sugar sales abroad have increased a whopping 217 percent, jumping from $23 million in 2009 to $74 million this year.

The majority of Costa Rican exports (41 percent) in 2010 were shipped to the United States, while 12.4 percent have gone to the European Union. Since 2008, exports to the EU have increased 5.9 percent.

 

Costa Rica Government to Invest $140 million to Coffee Farmers

Written by Costa Rica Las Villas on . Posted in Coffee, Costa Rica Business.

By Adam Williams
Tico Times Staff | [email protected]
A trust fund worth $140 million will be devoted to helping Costa Rican coffee growers over the next four years, the government of President Laura Chinchilla announced Thursday. In an effort to improve ailing coffee exports, which fell by 41 percent in 2009, the Agriculture Ministry, the Banco Nacional, the Development Bank System and the Coffee Institute of Costa Rica ( ICAFE) plan to use the funds to put 30,000 hectares of land into production.

“For many years, coffee exports have been one of the motors in the Costa Rican economy,” said Guido Vargas, president of ICAFE’s board of directors. “The reduction in production has greatly affected farms and families in several regions of the country. We have survived, but hopefully this assistance will return coffee production to its level of previous years.”

After a banner year in 2008, when the Costa Rican coffee sector generated exports worth $339 million, the value of exports in 2009 fell to $198 million. The largest decreases in exports were seen in coffee from the northern and Central Valley regions. According to ICAFE, the average production per hectare fell from 27 to 21 sacks between 2001 and 2010. The institute also mentioned that during the same time frame, nearly 36 percent of the coffee plants used in production reached the end of their 25-year harvest life.

Should the $140 million trust achieve its goal of revitalizing 30,000 hectares of land for coffee production, it would increase the current area dedicated to coffee by about 30 percent, which could account for an additional 2.5 million sacks of coffee. Currently, 98,681 hectares are committed to coffee production in the country.

The program’s financial assistance will be distributed to an estimated 50,000 coffee producers throughout the country.

“This is a very important day for the national coffee industry,” said Agriculture Minister Gloria Abraham. “It is a sector in the hands of small producers who are highly efficient and productive and who in the last few years have been confronted with the aging of their plantations. The National Coffee Growers Revitalization Program will install policies to ensure that this sector is again as productive as it can be.”

Starbucks Entering Central America

Written by Costa Rica Las Villas on . Posted in Coffee, Costa Rica Pictures, Costa Rica real estate, Costa Rica tourism.

By Adam Williams
Tico Times Staff | [email protected]
Starbucks Coffee Company, the most profitable gourmet coffee seller in the United States, announced Monday that it soon will be opening stores throughout Central America. Starbucks signed an agreement with Corporación de Franquicias Americanas (CFA), one of Central America’s largest operators of franchise restaurants, to begin the process. The first Starbucks will open in San Salvador, El Salvador’s capital, before the end of the year.

Starbucks Logo
Starbucks entering El Salvador by end of 2010

“Starbucks and Corporación de Franquicias Americanas, a Salvadoran company, will work together to determine how many Starbucks locations will be built in Central America,” Manuela Velásquez, Starbucks’ Central American marketing director, told The Tico Times. “At this time, we don’t know how many locations will be built, but we do know that the first Starbucks will be constructed in San Salvador this year. When Starbucks locations will be built in other Central American countries has not yet been determined.”

CFA has built 138 stores in El Salvador and Guatemala. CFA operates primarily U.S.-based restaurant chains such as Pizza Hut, KFC, Wendy’s and China Wok.

Starbucks, which has 16,728 locations worldwide according to a company spokesman, reported sales of $2.6 billion in the second quarter of this year, an 8.7 percent increase compared with the same quarter of 2009. After a difficult year in 2009, during which Starbucks closed approximately 900 international stores, the company has seen profits soar thus far in 2010. Starbucks attributes much of the improvement in sales to the popularity of Via Ready Brew, the company’s instant coffee brand that has eclipsed $100 million in sales since being introduced in October of 2009.

NOTE from Nick Halverson
Starbucks sources some of their coffee from farms in San Vito – approximately 75KM from The Village of San Buenas development.

My favorite cup of coffee in Costa Rica is still found at Kafe de la Casa in San Isidro del General. Be sure to say hi to Eny the owner!

Kafe de la Casa
Kafe de la Casa in San Isidro del General, Costa Rica