Coffee exports drop 40 percent

Colombian coffee exports fell 40 percent in August compared to last year, a drop the Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers attributed to the season. Grain production also fell 28 percent.

Some 588,000 60-kilogram sacs were exported this month, compared to 977,000 in August 2007, reported El Heraldo and French press agency AFP.

“This behavior does not worry the coffee growing authorities,” said a document released by the federation.

According to the group’s estimates, Colombia will have produced between 12.4 and 12.6 million sacs at the close of 2008, more than has been produced in a decade. In 2007, for example, year-end production reached 11.5 million sacs.