Coffee
The basic and most important exportation product for Central American countries is coffee. The coffee plant is a small shrub that grows in tropical regions, which belongs to the rubiaceae family, and is considered very numerous because of its 500 different genuses and 8,000 species.
The most popular of its genuses is the Coffea, which is constituted by trees, bushes, and reeds. It has more than 10 civilized species, that is to say the ones being cultivated by men, and 50 wild species.
Coffee beans or seeds are inside the shrub’s fruit. When they reach their ripeness state, they turn to a reddish color and are then called “berries”. Each one has an outer skin which surrounds a sweet pulp; under it, the beans are covered by a fine gold membrane that contains the two coffee seeds.
The coffee fruit, which seeds are roasted and grinded for human consumption are made up of:
- An outer cover called pulp
- A sweet gelatinous substance called mucilage
- A hard cover called papyrus or husk
- A more lean cover called film
- And finally the bean, which is the part of the fruit that is used for consumption
Coffee in Numbers
Some important numbers about Honduras’ coffee:
- 15 out of 18 provinces of Honduras harvest coffee
- Honduras is the second biggest producer of coffee in Central America
- 95% of the coffee is grown under diversified shadow
- Coffee is being sowed in 237,000 hectares
- 100,000 coffee growers families
- 90% is in hands of small producers
- 1,000,000 direct and indirect employments, 8% in the whole country
- Coffee represents 14% of Honduras’ GIP
- 33% of Agriculture’s GIP
- Exports total: 3.8 million bags of 46kg in 2004-2005
If you wish to know more historical numbers about Honduras’ Coffee, you may access to the statistical bulletin Coffee in Numbers. Download here »
National Importance
Coffee growth has been one of the main pillars in Honduras’ economical, social, and environmental sustainability. Ever since the XX century, it has been one of the human activities that has transformed our landscapes, economy, and culture of thousands of rural families.
It is the most influential monetary item in the agriculture area; more than 100,000 families benefit directly from this product. Therefore, it links approximately 1 million direct and indirect jobs, such as maintenance, harvest, commerce, industrialization, and every product related activity.
At the same time, coffee harvesting makes way for the diverse activities that create income to the producers in their farms, avoiding the migration to bigger cities.
Share in the Nation's Gross Internal Product (GIP)
According to the Central Bank of Honduras (2004), coffee makes 14% of Honduras’ GIP and 33% of Agriculture’s GIP, taking up second place as main generator of currencies, which translates to a national income of 300 million dollars.
Coffee has become the main contributor of Honduran GIP. Up until the year 2000, it had first place as the main currency generator, making up 26% of the GIP. Due to the severe impact of coffee’s low prices in the international market, it then stepped down to second place with a 12% share. This allowed the acquisition of new raw materials, and necessary goods and services for production and internal consumption. (Source: Central Bank of Honduras)
Honduran coffee has penetrated new and different markets on a daily basis and has been able to maintain long term relationships with international coffee buyers.
Environmental Care
From an environmental point of view, coffee is a product that helps maintain a balance in the ecosystem now that many species’ habitats are now endangered.
A very important aspect is that approximately 90% of the diversified shadow areas have been harvested with timber trees, which makes a very significant contribution of oxygen and firewood production (this last one is made up of the trees that provide the diversified shadow), fauna, soils, and water conservation, and an increase in the biodiversity.
