Torrential Rains in Colombia Since the Start of 2025 Most Likely To Reduce Coffee Output
Torrential Rains in Colombia Since the Start of 2025 Most Likely To Reduce Coffee Output
Bogota (Coffee Network)- After reporting torrential rains across coffee areas since earlier this year, bean growers are reporting a dry spell, but some coffee growers already predict that the Colombian 2025 harvest will come lower than the almost 14 million bags reported in 2024 because of the rainfall, coffee growers and exporters said.
Coffee growers in southern and key coffee producing provinces like Antioquia are already predicting that the harvest in 2025 will fall compared to 2024.
The large coffee grower in Antioquia Juan Alvaro Arboleda said the harvest in 2025 will fall from the previous year as they have reported only one flowering, compared to almost four by this time of the year, because of torrential rains.
“We can already predict a lower output for 2025 because even if the dry spell get extended, we are already falling behind in the flowerings,” Arboleda told Coffee Network.
The coffee grower and former senator Alejandro Corrales said 2025 has been an atypically rainy the year in the coffee-growing region of Risaralda, Caldas and Quindio. A dry January was reported with normal rainfall. In February, rainfall was four times higher than historical records. Normally, 100 to 130 millimeters were recorded this month, and in 2025, values close to 400 millimeters were recorded.
March saw more rain than normal in the first half of the month, which should have been dry but wasn't. Normal rainfall has now begun, which, along with April and May, are normally high.
In 2025, three flowering periods have been recorded: two poor and one good, compared with four flowering periods had been recorded to this date in the central coffee areas of Risaralda, Caldas and Quindio. In 2024, one poor, one average, and two were very good flowerings, Corrales.
According to Corrales, the coffee plantations were experiencing natural wear and tear because the second-half 2024 harvest was very good, which led to very low mitaca volumes in this first half.
“And for the expected production in the second half, flowering has not been as good as expected (due to excessive rainfall), which could lead to a decrease in the volume of the main harvest,” he said.
A large exporter in Pereira said a dry spell since last week should allow the ripening of beans due to the collected in the first half of the year.
The secondary harvest, also known as mitaca, should be start to bear fruits in two to three weeks so long as the dry spell continues.
Coffee growers in the southern provinces of Cauca and Nariño have reported a delayed in the ripening of beans as a result of torrential rains reported mainly in January, February and the first half of March.
Coffee growers in the southern provinces also reported a drop of leaves from coffee trees because of torrential rains.
The coffee cooperative of Asprounion in the southern province of Nariño, close to Ecuador said they endured torrential rains since late December but strong sunlight has been reported since last week.
“At the beginning we were worried with the strong rainfall, but we are still on time to start picking beans in the Easter Week,” Luis Carlos Burbano general manager of Asprounion said.
Those departments pick their main harvest in March-August.
The Colombia’s coffee weather office Cenicafe said rainfall in March is expected to increase in line with the country’s first rainy season, with showers already pelting large part of coffee areas.
In the coffee station of Manuel Mallarino, located in the southern province of Valle, it rained 338 millimeters in February, compared with a seasonal average of 102 millimeters for the same month in previous years.
Rainfall in March is estimated to be between 20% and 80% above the climatological averages in much of the coffee region.
For April, rainfall is expected to be between 20% and more than 90% above the reference climatology, in much of the coffee region.
By Diana Delgado
