LatinNews Daily - 03 July 2020

* The Guatemalan government has announced its decision to leave the United Kingdom-based International Coffee Organization (ICO), the main intergovernmental organisation for coffee, as of the next harvest season (October 2020 to September 2021). In a statement, the government complained that the ICO “has not helped to adequately address the international pricing crisis faced by producer countries”, and that current prices do not reflect the value of its coffee. “In many cases, they don’t cover the production costs, generating losses that have severely affected living conditions for producer families”. According to the government statement, coffee is grown in 204 of Guatemala’s 340 municipalities, with 125,000 families directly dependent on the crop for their livelihoods. The sector generates around 500,000 jobs. In the 2018-2019 season, Guatemala’s coffee exports were worth US$663.6m, while for the 2019-2020 season so far (as of 17 June), coffee exports have totalled US$467m.

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