SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Costa Rica said on Thursday it expected its 2010/11 coffee harvest to rise as much as 5.4 percent above last year's crop after damages from heavy rains proved to be less serious than originally thought.
Costa Rica was battered by heavy rains last year after the beginning of the harvesting season in October, raising fears of serious damage to the country's high-quality coffee crop.
But Ronald Peters, director of the country's national coffee institute known as Icafe, told Reuters the 2010/11 harvest would come in between 1.55 million and 1.57 million 60-kg bags, a jump from the 1.49 million produced last season.
Peters said nearly 80 percent of Costa Rica's crop already has been sold as arabica coffee prices hover arround three decade highs.
source: https://portal.hpd.global.reuters.com/site/applist.aspx
source: https://portal.hpd.global.reuters.com/site/applist.aspx
