[adsense] McDonald's just recently announced that their operations in North America will be investing $6.5 million over the next 4.5 years into providing technical assistance to Guatemalan coffee farmers in order to help increase their sustainable coffee production. They will be partnering with the non-profit organization's TechnoServe and SCAN and 20 other organizations … [Read more...]
Coffee Stocks Falling as Traders are Wary of Rust Damage
[adsense] For the past 2 days, coffee stocks have been falling as investors are "skeptical" of the current leaf rust epidemic sweeping through Central America. Roya, the leaf rust destroying coffee crops left and right currently is anticipated to destroy about 50% of Guatemala's crops. Bean stockpiles are currently at the highest they've been in decades, but the Roya … [Read more...]
National Emergency Declared in Guatemala
[adsense] On Friday, Guatemala's president, Otto Molina Perez, declared a national emergency due to the continuing spread of 'leaf rust' on the country's coffee plants. The plant disease has hit almost all other Central American countries, but has wiped out about 70 percent of Guatemala's crop. In an effort to help the situation and the struggling farmers, the … [Read more...]
Guatemalan Coffee
[adsense] For most of the 20th and 21st century, Guatemala has been Central America's top coffee producer, with Honduras only recently taking the top spot in 2011. Starting its development in the 1850's, coffee production was initially slow. This was mainly due to lack of knowledge, farmer funding, technology, and labor shortage. Over the years that began to change, with … [Read more...]