Panamanian luxury coffee is not governed by the international prices of the stock market, but felt the impact this year of the effects of climate change, which caused a reduction in production due to the increase in rains in the traditionally dry months, such as December, January and February.
Despite the increase in the international price of the stock market at 4 dollars per pound, Panama’s luxury coffee has not been so affected, since for years most of its production is sold at auction, reaching more than $ 10,000 per kilogram.
But traditional, majority varieties in the country do feel the impact.
“We have never had a great coffee offer in Panama, because we are a small country in terms of production, especially compared to neighbors such as Costa Rica and Colombia (…). But here we have managed to distance ourselves from the price of the stock market prices,” Rachel Peterson, in charge of the La Esmeralda Finance Market, the first estate that two decades made the world the luxury coffee of the Luxury Coffee of the Geisha, told Efe.
In this farm, in the mountainous gap – in the province of Chiriquí 500 kilometers from the capital of Panama – prices are determined by the company and accepted by customers, who are not governed by the international stock market.
“Panama coffee consumers do not think about the price even in the local market, because coffee sold in auction has reached very high values,” Peterson added.
Geisha coffee and pricing structure in Panama
In Panama there are two types of coffee, explained Ricardo Koyner, president of the Association of Special Cafes of Panama (SCAP): traditional varieties, which depend on the price of the bag, and the geisha, whose value is defined by its quality and exclusivity.
“The increase in the price of the stock market benefits traditional coffee producers, but the Geisha is a separate category. It receives its price for quality, not by volume, and there are few regions of Panama capable of producing a geisha that justifies the highest values,” said Efe Koyner.
But climate change affects production in the alteration of flowering and fruiting cycles, increased disease due to excess moisture or prolonged drought, climatic variability that confuses the development of the plant, he explains.
According to data from the Ministry of Agricultural Development, production in recent years has been around 200,000 quintals per year, with about 184,552 quintals in the 2018-19 harvest, up to 222,971 in 2020-21.
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But according to Koyner, a decade ago there were about 400,000 quintals, and this year it is estimated that production is between 120,000 and 140,000 due to the climatic crisis, in addition “before there were 10,000 producers, now there is nothing more 6,000.”
But, although Panama is the country with lower coffee production in the region, its grain is marketed at higher prices due to its unique qualities, positioning in luxury market niches.
Wilford Lamastus, from Lamastus Family Estates, achieved the highest price in the electronic auction of the Best of Panama (BOP) 2024, with $ 10,013 per kilogram in a 20 kg lot, and beat the world record with $ 13,518 per kg in a private auction.
“The Geisha has benefited the entire industry, attracting buyers who also acquire other varieties. Today, selling traditional coffee is easier thanks to the Geisha,” Lamastus said.
The collection of specialty coffee requires qualified labor, which returns to the harvest every year. In Hacienda La Esmeralda, workers receive decent conditions and social benefits, they defend.
Another reality of Panamanian coffee
In the community of La Negrita, located in the district of Capira, is the Lidu estate, a property of 4 hectares belonging to Liduvina Rivera.
Rivera is part of the small group of farmers who in recent years have seen their coffee farms enhanced around the Panama Canal Basin, whose administration supports them with workshops and training, while protecting that forested area, key to the sustainability of the interoceanic pathway.
“At first, with only one hectare, we obtained between three and five quintals of coffee. But as we learned new techniques, such as the immediate transplantation of trees when they died, the production was increasing. Today, we managed to reach 200 quintals,” said Efe Rivera, who started his farm in 2019.
Mainly they reap Robusta Café, a species that occurs at low levels of height and easy to market compared to the Geisha, sown to the north in high areas.
Per year they produce up to 14,000 quintals per year, when at the beginning of the project in 2006 about 800 quintals were removed each year. That represents a direct income to the peasant communities of 1.1 million dollars.
“This is a friendly crop because it grows under shade, which forces us to sow and maintain trees. Thanks to this, we protect the soil, the water sources (from the Panama Canal) and the forests,” Rivera explained.
With EFE information.
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