Guatemala To Leave International Coffee Organization
From: nasdaq.com
Guatemala has begun the process to leave the International Coffee Organization (ICO) due to concern over falling coffee prices, a Guatemalan government official and another person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.
Coffee is the second most important agricultural export for the Central American country, which is struggling to recover from a 2012 roya fungal outbreak, in addition to the economic challenges of the coronavirus crisis.
The Guatemalan official said Central American countries were seeking alternatives to support the coffee industry due to pricing concerns as global coffee prices are trading at low levels. Guatemala mainly produces Arabica. The ICO said it had not been officially informed of Guatemala’s plan to withdraw from the International Coffee agreement, but that it was aware “some forces in the country” were dissatisfied with ICO’s handling of the pricing crisis.
