Colombia's coffee crop is under threat from El Nino, according to national growers' association Fedecafe. The El Nino pattern is associated with drier weather in Colombia, and the country has seen drought in key growing regions in recent months. "Our first evaluations indicate that close to 18% of the anticipated harvest for the second half of 2015 will be affected in some measure by the absence of rain," Fedecafe head Roberto Velez said. "If El Nino has its predicted intensity until the beginning of next year, we will have a complex situation in terms of income and production costs." Coffee borer threat As well as stressing plants, the drought could cause an increase in infestations by coffee borer beetles, which thrive in the dry weather. Hiring workers to combat the beetle could see labour costs on farms for growers rise by 50% in some regions, Mr Velez said. The dry weather threatens to derail the Colombian industry's recovery. In August Colombian coffee production reached 1.26m bags, up 10% from the same time last year. Colombian coffee production has been rebounding after widespread uprooting and replanting of trees, caused by an epidemic of the fungal disease rust in 2013. Ugandan rains Last week the national association of producers in Uganda warned that the country's exports may fall below 3.5m bags previously estimated, because of the effects of El Nino. El Nino is associated with wetter weather in East Africa, and recent heavy rains in Uganda, Africa's largest coffee exporter, have pressured the country's infrastructure, damaging roads and bridges. The association also warned that the rains could lead to disease outbreaks in the future.
The El Nino pattern is﻿ related to the drier weather period in Colombia and could lead to repercussions for the Colombian coffee crop market. The absence of rain is predicted to affect around 18% of the harvest for the beginning of next year. This could lead to labour costs doubling as they look to bring in more workers to get rid of the borer beetles which thrive in the dry weather.