The ISC reports that 191 quintals of coffee have been exported at an average price of $289.
]For the first time, El Salvador has exported coffee to Cuba, a country plunged into an economic crisis with energy blackouts and food shortages.
The Salvadoran Institute of Coffee (ISC) reports that so far 2023-2024 – from October 2023 to August 2024- 191 quintals of coffee have been exported to Cuba, valued at $55,297. This means they were paid at an average of $289.51.
According to the Central Reserve Bank (BCR), it is the first time that coffee exports have been registered to Cuba. The institution reports a smaller amount to the ISC, after accumulating shipments of $37,716.8 from January to August, while in 2023 there was no movement.
The reports do not detail the exporting producer or the buyer in Cuba, but the price paid is in the differentiated grain band (gourmet, organic and sustainable), which El Salvador exports for more than $256.
Cuba is the thirty-third partner of Salvadoran exports with $4.1 million in the first eight months of 2024, 0.1% share in the more than $4,319.4 million reported in total.
The central bank reports that exports to the island have experienced 18.5 percent growth compared to the $3.4 million reported in the same period of 2023.
The largest export burden to the Caribbean country is grain-based preparations, flour and milk, with more than $1.7 million between January and August 2024. More than $1.14 million has also been sent in soap and washing preparations.
Cubans face the worst economic crisis in three decades that leads to shortages of food and medicine, as well as skyrocketing inflation and energy blackouts. Social discontent led to thousands of people marching on July 11, 2021, one of the country’s most iconic protests that left hundreds of detainees charged by the regime.
0.5 per cent of the roasted coffee sold worldwide in 2023 came from El Salvador
El Salvador was the world’s number 21 coffee supplier without roasting or decaffeinated coffee.
0.56 per cent of the untoasted or decaffeinated coffee that was exported worldwide in 2023 came from El Salvador, according to Trade Map, a statistical base administered by the International Trade Centre (ITC).
Trade Map, part of the United Nations system, reports that worldwide there were coffee exports of more than $25,808.9 million in 2023, where El Salvador ranked as the supplier 21 with $145.4 million.
In the world ranking, Brazil is the largest grain supplier with exports exceeding $7,315.3 million, equivalent to 28.3 percent. Vietnam is the second-highest seller, with $3.146.9 million, followed by Colombia, with $2,791.9 million.
Honduras is the fourth largest exporter of coffee in the world, with just over $1,477.4 million at the end of 2023, equivalent to 5.7 percent of the total. That position held El Salvador in 1970, with harvests at the time of more than four million quintals, which in turn placed him as the fifth largest producer in the world.
Central American Map
From Central America, Guatemala ranks as the world’s seventh largest exporter of aromatic when recording sales of $945.9 million. Nicaragua ranks 13th, with $607.05 million, and Costa Rica follows it with $346.9 million reported at the end of 2023.
The revenue generated from El Salvador’s coffee exports is surpassed even by Tanzania, which sold more than $26.7 million and is close to Spain, which recorded exports $102.6 million.
For its part, the Central Reserve Bank (BCR) reports that coffee exports left income to the Salvadoran economy of $147.1 million, a figure slightly higher than that reported by Trade Map. Exports of the gold grain fell by $29.8 million (16.8 percent) from the $176.9 million in 2022.
The United States is the main buyer of the Salvadoran grain, with $59.08 million at the end of 2023, followed by Germany sued $11.4 million and Belgium with $11.04 million.
On the golden grain route is also Saudi Arabia, which imported $6.1 million in 2023, as well as the United Arab Emirates with more than $545,000.
Importers
According to Trade Map, the United States was the largest importer of coffee in 2023 with more than $5,673.08 million. Germany, which has a population of 3.9 below the U.S., is the second-largest buyer after acquiring $3.592.5 million last year.
Italy is the world’s third-larger coffee importer, with $2.155.3 million, followed by Japan, with $1.424.2 million.
El Salvador imported $37 million in coffee, of which $35 million came from Guatemala. Trade Map records that $1 million was also imported from Italy and $1 million from the United States.
This article has been translated after first appearing in Diario El Mundo