{ "id": "guatemala", "url": "https://coffearium.org/entries/guatemala/", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "title": "Guatemala", "summary": "A mostly arabica origin of smallholders and estates on the volcanic and limestone highlands of Guatemala, harvested from late November to March, with the national coffee association Anacafé in charge of export permits and statistics.", "domain": "origin", "kind": "Region", "stage": "farm", "topics": [ "history" ], "topicSections": {}, "lang": "en", "status": "verified", "lastVerified": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z", "literatureSearched": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z", "updated": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z", "added": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z", "brief": [ "Guatemala produced 3.16 million bags of 60 kg in 2025/26, 96% of them arabica (our calculation), by the count of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).1", "The national coffee association (Anacafé) represents more than 125,000 coffee growers; 97% produce on small units and grow 50% of the national volume.6", "Anacafé describes eight coffee regions, from Cobán at 1,311–1,707 m to Huehuetenango at 1,524–1,981 m (our conversion from feet).7", "In 2012/13 leaf rust affected 193,200 ha of 276,000 ha, an incidence of 70%, according to figures the International Coffee Organization (ICO) took from PROMECAFÉ.12", "Café Antigua is protected in the EU, registered as a protected geographical indication (PGI) by a regulation of 8 October 2026, and in the United Kingdom.17,18" ], "quickFacts": [ { "label": "Production (USDA)", "value": "3.16 million 60-kg bags (2025/26); 3.26 million forecast (2026/27)" }, { "label": "Production (FAO)", "value": "224,860 t green coffee (2024), 11th of 78 countries" }, { "label": "Share of world output", "value": "1.76% (USDA, 2025/26) · 2.02% (FAO, 2024), our calculation" }, { "label": "Species", "value": "Arabica ≈98% of planted area, robusta ≈2% (USDA, 2025)" }, { "label": "Area", "value": "376,000 ha planted, 338,000 ha harvested (USDA, 2025)" }, { "label": "Where", "value": "All departments; 261 of 340 municipalities (Anacafé, 2024–2025)" }, { "label": "Regions", "value": "Eight (Anacafé), 1,311–1,981 m (our conversion from feet)" }, { "label": "Harvest", "value": "Late November to March, by region and altitude (agriculture ministry)" }, { "label": "Producers", "value": "More than 125,000 growers; 97% small (Anacafé, 2024–2025)" }, { "label": "Coffee year", "value": "October–September (USDA marketing year; Anacafé coffee year)" }, { "label": "Exports", "value": "3,725,808 quintales of green coffee, USD 1,284.7 million (coffee year 2024/25, Anacafé)" }, { "label": "Geographical indication", "value": "Café Antigua (EU PGI 2026; UK PGI)" } ], "aka": [ "Guatemalan coffee" ], "linkTerms": [ "Guatemalan coffee", "Guatemala coffee", "Anacafé", "Anacafe", "Asociación Nacional del Café", "Café Antigua", "Antigua coffee", "Huehuetenango", "Anacafé 14" ], "related": [ "coffee-production-by-country", "the-coffee-belt", "coffea-arabica", "arabica-varieties", "the-timor-hybrid", "coffee-leaf-rust", "coffee-berry-borer", "harvest-calendars", "crop-year-and-coffee-year", "washed-process", "drying", "grading-and-sorting", "auctions-and-competitions", "shade-and-agroforestry", "differentials", "coffee-yields", "eudr", "honduras", "peru" ], "contested": [ "Size of the crop: USDA’s July 2026 tables give 3.155 million 60-kg bags for marketing year 2025/26 (October–September), which is 189,300 t (our calculation)1; FAO gives 224,860 t of green coffee for calendar year 20243. In April 2025 USDA’s post in Guatemala City forecast 3.54 million bags for 2025/26 and estimated 3.53 million for 2024/25, against 3.27 million for 2024/25 in the July 2026 tables.5,1 The sources consulted do not explain the differences.", "Share of output from small producers: 44% in USDA’s 2025 report, which counts smallholders as 97% of producers5; 50% of the national volume in Anacafé’s report for 2024–2025, also with 97% small producers.6 Neither source defines “small” in the passages consulted.", "Number of regions: Anacafé describes eight coffee regions, each with a profile7, and its 2024–2025 report runs its competitions in “the eight coffee regions”6; the same report speaks of seven regional offices (“siete regionales”) and, for its nursery monitoring, of “siete regiones cafetaleras”.6" ], "corrections": [], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "title": "Coffee: World Markets and Trade (July 2026)", "authors": "USDA Foreign Agricultural Service", "year": 2026, "publisher": "United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service", "url": "https://apps.fas.usda.gov/psdonline/circulars/2026/07/coffee.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Guatemala rows in the Coffee Summary tables Arabica Production, Production, Bean Exports and Roast and Ground Exports (thousand 60-kg bags, marketing years 2021/22–2026/27); world total for Production. Guatemala has no row in the Robusta Production, Soluble Exports, Exports, Domestic Consumption or Ending Stocks tables; the robusta volume (130,000 bags in every year except 2022/23, when it is 120,000) is our calculation as Production minus Arabica Production. Guatemala’s marketing year (October–September) from the table Marketing Years for Producing Countries. Edition of July 2026. Values read through a summarising fetch. Shares and conversions to tonnes are our calculation.", "quote": "Guatemala is reduced nearly 400,000 bags to 3.2 million", "quotes": [ { "text": "rebounding output in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Panama.", "for": "2026/27 forecast" } ], "scope": { "claim": "data", "context": "USDA FAS PSD tables, Guatemala, marketing years 2021/22–2026/27; July 2026 edition", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s2", "title": "Coffee bean production (FAOSTAT, Crops and livestock products, item Coffee, green)", "authors": "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); processed by Our World in Data", "year": 2026, "publisher": "FAO via Our World in Data", "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coffee-bean-production", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "FAO statistics are Tier A; read through Our World in Data, which republishes the FAOSTAT series in tonnes. Values for Guatemala, calendar years 1961–2024, read on 3 Nov 2026 from the chart’s filtered CSV download (country Guatemala, time 1961..2024, tab chart) through a summarising fetch that returned all 64 rows. The 2024 value (224,860 t) matches the site’s FAOSTAT extract (source 3). Changes between years are our calculation.", "quotes": [], "scope": { "claim": "data", "context": "FAOSTAT green coffee production, Guatemala, calendar years 1961–2024", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s3", "title": "FAOSTAT: Crops and livestock products (item “Coffee, green”, element “Production”, 2024)", "authors": "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations", "year": 2026, "publisher": "FAO, licence CC BY 4.0", "url": "https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Values and flags from the FAOSTAT extract of 11 Oct 2026 used by the site’s world coffee map, kept in tools/figures/data/the-coffee-belt-production-faostat-2024.json (78 countries and territories; Guatemala 224,860 t, flag A, ‘official value’). Rank, sum (11,133,143 t) and share are our calculation.", "quotes": [], "scope": { "claim": "data", "context": "FAOSTAT 2024 extract, 78 countries and territories", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s4", "title": "Coffee bean yields; Coffee bean production (FAOSTAT, Crops and livestock products, item Coffee, green)", "authors": "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); processed by Our World in Data", "year": 2026, "publisher": "FAO via Our World in Data", "url": "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/coffee-yields", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "FAO statistics are Tier A; read through Our World in Data. Guatemala, 1961–2024, read on 3 Nov 2026 from the chart’s filtered CSV download through a summarising fetch (1961: 0.4374 t/ha; highest 1.1431 t/ha in 2000; 0.5661 t/ha in 2023, the lowest since 1970 (0.5634 t/ha); lowest of the series 0.4319 t/ha in 1967; 2024: 0.598 t/ha, given here in kg/ha).", "quotes": [], "scope": { "claim": "data", "context": "FAOSTAT green coffee yield, Guatemala, 1961–2024", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s5", "title": "Guatemala: Coffee Annual (GT2025-0007)", "authors": "Tay, K. (USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Guatemala City)", "year": 2025, "publisher": "USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, GAIN report", "url": "https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileName=Coffee+Annual_Guatemala+City_Guatemala_GT2025-0007.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Government report dated 30 April 2025 (post estimates and forecasts, not official USDA figures). The 2026 Coffee Annual could not be located. Area figures for MY 2025/26 cite a 2024 coffee map. Producer shares by size are given without size definitions. Green export destinations for MY 2023/24 are in Table 2, whose unit is labelled MT while the text speaks of 60-kg bags; only the text shares are used. The 60% soluble share of domestic consumption is in the highlights only. The report gives no harvest months, altitudes or regions. Read through a summarising fetch; quotes are passages the fetch returned verbatim.", "quote": "remains rooted in the work of approximately 125,000 smallholder farmers", "quotes": [ { "text": "Smallholder farmers form the backbone of Guatemala’s coffee sector, accounting for 97 percent of all coffee producers", "for": "smallholders" }, { "text": "contributing 44 percent of the nation's total coffee output", "for": "smallholder output" }, { "text": "medium-sized producers, just 3 percent of the farming population, are responsible for 31 percent of production", "for": "medium producers" }, { "text": "large-scale producers, representing less than 1 percent of growers, generate 25 percent", "for": "large producers" }, { "text": "the harvest area is expected to hold steady at 338,000 hectares, according to a 2024 coffee map", "for": "harvested area" }, { "text": "Arabica continues to dominate production, accounting for approximately 98 percent of the total planted area", "for": "arabica share" }, { "text": "Arabica seeds, including cultivars such as Anacafé 14, Anacafé 90, Cuscatleco, Catuai, Catucaí, Caturra,", "for": "varieties" }, { "text": "Within the Arabica category, an estimated 30 percent of the trees are rust-tolerant hybrid varieties.", "for": "rust-tolerant share" }, { "text": "which kept coffee leaf rust incidence below 10 percent.", "for": "rust 2023/24" }, { "text": "Green coffee exports totaled 3.15 million 60-kg bags, 83 percent of which were classified as strictly hard beans.", "for": "SHB" }, { "text": "The United States remains the leading export destination, accounting for 41 percent of total exports,", "for": "United States" }, { "text": "new meteorological stations added to the 122 stations in operation", "for": "weather stations" } ], "scope": { "claim": "data", "context": "USDA FAS post report, Guatemala City; marketing years 2023/24–2025/26", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s6", "title": "Memoria de labores 2025 (año cafetalero 2024–2025)", "authors": "Asociación Nacional del Café (Anacafé)", "year": 2025, "publisher": "Anacafé, Guatemala City", "url": "https://www.anacafe.org/uploads/file/b7e6d68ba1b84832a940745715e270f8/Memoria_de_labores_Anacafe_2025_web.pdf", "tier": "A/B", "tierNote": "Annual report of the national coffee association for the coffee year October 2024 – September 2025 (no publication date printed). A for its statistics (growers, municipalities, exports, rust monitoring) and its own programmes; B for anything else. It gives no national production, no total coffee area and no export destinations for Guatemala. It speaks of eight coffee regions in its competitions section, of “siete regiones cafetaleras” in its nursery monitoring section and of seven Anacafé regional offices elsewhere. The export volume is in quintales oro (green coffee); the quintal is not defined in the passages read. Read through a summarising fetch.", "quote": "El café está presente en todos los departamentos de Guatemala, en 261 de los 340 municipios.", "quotes": [ { "text": "Anacafé representa a más de 125 mil caficultores y sus familias en todo el país,", "for": "growers" }, { "text": "de las cuales el 97% producen en pequeñas unidades productivas y representan el 50% del volumen de la producción nacional.", "for": "small producers" }, { "text": "Anualmente, el sector genera alrededor de medio millón de empleos,", "for": "jobs" }, { "text": "Las exportaciones de café alcanzaron 3,725,808 quintales oro, generando divisas por US$1,284,710,833.", "for": "exports 2024/25" }, { "text": "Durante 2025, la incidencia promedio fue de 13.7% en agosto,", "for": "rust 2025" }, { "text": "desarrolló el primer modelo de zonas de vida de la caficultura guatemalteca,", "for": "life zones" }, { "text": "se implementó el programa de Competencias de Café en las ocho regiones cafetaleras de Guatemala", "for": "eight regions" }, { "text": "Como resultado, se alcanzaron 789 miembros de la cadena productiva en las siete regionales de Anacafé.", "for": "seven regional offices" }, { "text": "Se realizó en las siete regiones cafetaleras del país", "for": "seven regions (nurseries)" }, { "text": "cerraron el año cafetalero 2024/25 (octubre a septiembre)", "for": "coffee year" } ], "scope": { "claim": "data", "context": "Anacafé annual report, coffee year 2024–2025", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s7", "title": "Regions and profiles (Highland Huehue, Acatenango Valley, Antigua Coffee, Traditional Atitlán, Rainforest Cobán, Fraijanes Plateau, New Oriente, Volcanic San Marcos)", "authors": "Asociación Nacional del Café (Anacafé)", "year": 2019, "publisher": "Guatemalan Coffees, website of the Guatemalan National Coffee Association (©2019)", "url": "https://www.guatemalancoffees.com/main/regions-and-profiles/highland-huehue/", "tier": "A/B", "tierNote": "Eight region pages of the national coffee association’s export promotion site, one per region (…/regions-and-profiles/highland-huehue/, acatenango-valley/, antigua-coffee/, traditional-atitlan/, rainforest-coban/, fraijanes-plateau/, new-oriente/, volcanic-san-marcos/); the quote is from the Huehuetenango page. Each page gives a ‘Region profile’ of four values with units (°F, in, %, ft) but without names; reading them as temperature, rainfall, relative humidity and altitude is ours. The Huehuetenango and Acatenango pages also give 6,500 feet as 2,000 meters. The Antigua page gives its altitude as ‘5000 - 5600’ without a unit (read as feet). A for the region names and the ranges as published; B for the descriptions (volcanoes, soils, drying). No page names departments or municipalities, and none gives harvest months. Conversions to metres, millimetres and °C are ours. Read through summarising fetches.", "quote": "5000 - 6500 ft", "quotes": [ { "text": "grown under dense shade as high as 6,500 feet (2,000 meters)", "for": "Acatenango page" }, { "text": "This valley is surrounded by three volcanoes: Agua, Fuego, and Acatenango.", "for": "Antigua page" }, { "text": "Cobán is cloudy, rainy, and cool all year long.", "for": "Cobán page" }, { "text": "much of the coffee is pre-dried in the sun and finished in a Guardiola dryer", "for": "San Marcos page" } ], "scope": { "claim": "data", "context": "Anacafé region profiles: altitude, rainfall, temperature and humidity ranges for eight regions (no date beyond ©2019)", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s8", "title": "Época de cosecha del café", "year": 2025, "publisher": "Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Alimentación (MAGA), Guatemala", "url": "https://www.maga.gob.gt/epoca-de-cosecha-del-cafe/", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Agriculture ministry page, consulted for the entry Harvest calendars on 11 Oct 2026 (same title, url and quote). When this entry was written and when it was checked (3 Nov 2026) the page could not be accessed (client error); the claim is also carried by source 23, which uses the same wording.", "quote": "En Guatemala, la cosecha de café generalmente comienza a finales de noviembre y se extiende hasta marzo, la cual depende de la región y la altitud.", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-10-11T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s9", "title": "Monitoreo nacional de calidad de café (boletín, marzo 2025)", "authors": "Asociación Nacional del Café (Anacafé), Calidad, Poscosecha e Innovación", "year": 2025, "publisher": "Anacafé, Guatemala City", "url": "https://www.anacafe.org/uploads/file/3f3523948dfa4796b61e9a0ae1d77c45/Boletin-Calidad-Cosecha-MAR2025.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Technical bulletin of the national coffee association on its own quality monitoring (127 samples, November 2024 – January 2025). It gives the 10–12% target for green coffee (“café oro”) after drying and before storage, but does not state the form of the samples (parchment or green) or the moisture basis. Regional values are in charts whose labels could not be matched in the text layer and are not used. Read through a summarising fetch.", "quote": "El rango adecuado de humedad debe estar entre el 10% y el 12%.", "quotes": [ { "text": "Durante los meses de noviembre de 2024 a enero de 2025, se evaluaron 127 muestras,", "for": "samples" }, { "text": "En el muestreo realizado hasta el momento, se observa una humedad promedio del 10.99% a nivel nacional.", "for": "mean moisture" }, { "text": "el 65% del café evaluado se encuentra dentro del parámetro ideal", "for": "within target" }, { "text": "el 92.1% de las muestras evaluadas en taza son limpias (sanas)", "for": "clean cups" }, { "text": "el 65.6% de las muestras presentan un secado disparejo.", "for": "uneven drying" } ], "scope": { "claim": "data", "context": "Anacafé national quality monitoring, harvest 2024/25, 127 samples", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s10", "title": "Ley del Café (Decreto Número 19-69 del Congreso de la República de Guatemala)", "authors": "Congreso de la República de Guatemala", "year": 1969, "publisher": "Congreso de la República de Guatemala; copy hosted by the Asociación Guatemalteca de Exportadores (Agexport)", "url": "https://export.com.gt/attach/componentes/listado-filas/LeydelCafe_5fb59fbdc7be3.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "The exporters’ association had removed this copy by 4 Nov 2026 (HTTP 404); the quotes were checked against it at verification on 3 Nov 2026, and another official copy is still to be found. Text of the law, passed on 22 April 1969 and sanctioned on 30 April 1969 (no publication date in the copy; it enters into force the day after publication, article 49). Read on a copy hosted by the exporters’ association; later reforms were not consulted. Read through a summarising fetch.", "quote": "es una entidad de derecho público, no lucrativa, constituida por los caficultores de la República.", "quotes": [ { "text": "la única autorizada para extender los permisos de exportación y embarque", "for": "export permits" } ], "scope": { "claim": "definition", "context": "Guatemala, coffee law of 1969: Anacafé’s legal nature, export permits, producer registry", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s11", "title": "El desarrollo del cultivo del café y su influencia en el régimen del trabajo agrícola. Época de la reforma liberal (1871-1885)", "authors": "Cazali Ávila, A.", "year": 1976, "publisher": "Anuario de Estudios Centroamericanos 2(1), 35–93 (Universidad de Costa Rica)", "url": "https://archivo.revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/anuario/article/view/3841", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Scholarly article in the university journal of the Universidad de Costa Rica; the online record gives 2012 as the date of the digital issue and 1976 in its citation metadata. Read through a summarising fetch of the PDF, whose text layer is an OCR scan without accents and with OCR slips (e.g. “initio” for “inició”, “Uego” for “llegó”). The quotes below give the words with standard accents, which the quote check ignores; the 1871 quote will match only closely because of “initio”. The Jesuit account is the author’s report of an earlier writer (Rubio Sánchez) and is given here as attributed. The 1880 production figure is from a table in the article (quintales, form not stated).", "quote": "Esta planta fue introducida en el país a finales del siglo XVIII, pero en un principio no se le explotó comercialmente.", "quotes": [ { "text": "pues se exportó café por valor de diecinueve mil pesos.", "for": "exports 1862" }, { "text": "El 30 de junio de 1871 se inició formalmente el nuevo régimen,", "for": "Liberal reform" }, { "text": "El 22 de julio de 1873 se dictó el acuerdo sobre enajenación de terrenos baldíos en la Costa Cuca y El Palmar.", "for": "land" }, { "text": "En la práctica, lo que se hizo fue legalizar el trabajo forzoso,", "for": "forced labour" }, { "text": "Reglamento de Jornaleros", "for": "labour regulation 1877" } ], "scope": { "claim": "description", "context": "Guatemala, coffee and agricultural labour during the Liberal reform, 1871–1885", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s12", "title": "Report on the outbreak of coffee leaf rust in Central America and Action Plan to combat the pest (ED 2157/13)", "authors": "International Coffee Organization", "year": 2013, "publisher": "International Coffee Organization, London", "url": "https://www.ico.org/documents/cy2012-13/ed-2157e-report-clr.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "ICO document of 13 May 2013 (A for statistics). Table 1 gives figures from PROMECAFÉ for crop year 2012/13. Its column headers are out of order in the text layer; the assignment of the Guatemala values (276,000 ha total, 193,200 ha affected, 500,000 workforce, 75,000 job losses, USD 101.0 million and 554,394 bags of 60 kg lost) is our reading, consistent with the column totals and with the 70% incidence in paragraph 8 (193,200 of 276,000 ha is 70.0%, our calculation). The same reading is used in the entry Honduras. Read through a summarising fetch.", "quote": "The incidence rates are as follows: El Salvador 74%, Guatemala 70%, Costa Rica 64%, Nicaragua 37% and Honduras 25%.", "quotes": [ { "text": "Guatemala 276 000 193 200 500 000 75 000 101.0 554 394", "for": "Guatemala row" }, { "text": "A state of phytosanitary emergency that was declared in Costa Rica, Guatemala and Honduras continues", "for": "emergency" } ], "scope": { "claim": "data", "context": "Coffee leaf rust in PROMECAFÉ countries, crop year 2012/13", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s13", "title": "The coffee rust crises in Colombia and Central America (2008–2013): impacts, plausible causes and proposed solutions", "authors": "Avelino, J.; Cristancho, M.; Georgiou, S.; Imbach, P.; Aguilar, L.; Bornemann, G.; Läderach, P.; Anzueto, F.; Hruska, A. J.; Morales, C.", "year": 2015, "publisher": "Food Security 7(2), 303–321", "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12571-015-0446-9", "doi": "10.1007/s12571-015-0446-9", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Peer-reviewed review. Its Guatemalan data (1,224 farms between 400 and 1,800 m assessed by Anacafé in November 2012; races identified by Anacafé from samples of July 2013) come from Anacafé; the review does not say who detected the unusual rust levels of 2011–12. Read through a summarising fetch.", "quote": "During the recent Guatemalan epidemics, almost equivalent attack intensities were observed at all altitudes", "quotes": [ { "text": "These 1224 farms were assessed for coffee rust attacks in November 2012 by ANACAFE", "for": "farms assessed" }, { "text": "Heterogeneous spatial distribution of coffee rust intensity was observed in Guatemala at country scale", "for": "national pattern" }, { "text": "Similarly, only races XXV (v2, v5, v6) and XXVIII (v2, v4, v5, v6) were identified in Guatemala by ANACAFE", "for": "races" }, { "text": "In Guatemala, ANACAFE negotiated fungicide prices with agrochemical companies to alleviate the financial burden", "for": "fungicide prices" }, { "text": "In Guatemala, a USD 100 million trust fund is being used for medium and large producers.", "for": "trust fund" }, { "text": "In Guatemala, 25 % of the coffee area is > 25 years old.", "for": "plantation age" } ], "scope": { "claim": "finding", "context": "Review of the 2008–2013 rust epidemics in Colombia and Central America; Guatemala data from Anacafé", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s14", "title": "Anacafe 14", "authors": "World Coffee Research", "publisher": "World Coffee Research, Arabica Coffee Varieties catalogue", "url": "https://varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org/varieties/anacafe-14", "tier": "A/B", "tierNote": "A for lineage, breeder and release year as catalogued; B for the history narrative (origin in Chiquimula). The rust rating could not be read unambiguously in the page layout and is not used. Read through a summarising fetch.", "quote": "(Timor Hybrid 832/1 x Caturra) x Pacamara", "quotes": [ { "text": "it was released as a commercial variety in 2014", "for": "release" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s15", "title": "Pache", "authors": "World Coffee Research", "publisher": "World Coffee Research, Arabica Coffee Varieties catalogue", "url": "https://varieties.worldcoffeeresearch.org/varieties/pache", "tier": "A/B", "tierNote": "A for lineage as catalogued; B for the history narrative (discovery in Santa Rosa, Guatemala; the year is given by this source only and is not used). Read through a summarising fetch.", "quote": "A natural mutation of Typica.", "quotes": [ { "text": "Mass selection took place across private farms in Guatemala, and from there spread to other regions and countries.", "for": "spread" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s16", "title": "Decisión No 5/2014 del Consejo de Asociación UE-Centroamérica, de 7 de noviembre de 2014, sobre las indicaciones geográficas que deben incluirse en el anexo XVIII del Acuerdo [2015/1219]", "authors": "EU–Central America Association Council", "year": 2015, "publisher": "Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea L 196/59, 24 July 2015 (copy on boe.es)", "url": "https://www.boe.es/doue/2015/196/L00059-00066.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Decision of the Association Council, done at San José, Costa Rica, on 7 November 2014. Part B lists Central American geographical indications protected in the EU; for Guatemala it lists Café Antigua (coffee) and Ron de Guatemala (spirits). Read through a summarising fetch.", "quote": "GUATEMALA Café Antigua Café", "quotes": [], "scope": { "claim": "definition", "context": "EU–Central America Association Agreement, Annex XVIII, Part B", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s17", "title": "Reglamento de Ejecución (UE) 2026/2301 de la Comisión, de 8 de octubre de 2026, relativo a la inscripción de la indicación geográfica «Café Antigua» (IGP) en el registro de indicaciones geográficas de la Unión de conformidad con el Reglamento (UE) 2024/1143", "authors": "European Commission", "year": 2026, "publisher": "Diario Oficial de la Unión Europea, serie L, 2026/2301, 15 October 2026 (copy on boe.es, DOUE-L-2026-81586)", "url": "https://www.boe.es/doue/2026/2301/L00001-00001.pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Commission implementing regulation. The application by the Asociación de Productores de Café Genuino Antigua was published in OJ C, C/2026/3343, 22 June 2026; EUR-Lex lists that notice (C/2026/3343, 22 June 2026), but its text, with the single document (area, altitude, specification), could not be accessed. No opposition was received (recital 2); the regulation enters into force 20 days after publication (Article 2). Read through a summarising fetch.", "quote": "la indicación geográfica «Café Antigua» (IGP).", "quotes": [ { "text": "la solicitud de la Asociación de Productores de Café Genuino Antigua (Guatemala) de registro", "for": "applicant" } ], "scope": { "claim": "definition", "context": "EU register of geographical indications, Café Antigua (PGI), October 2026", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s18", "title": "Café Antigua", "authors": "UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs", "year": 2021, "publisher": "GOV.UK, protected food and drink names register", "url": "https://www.gov.uk/protected-food-drink-names/cafe-antigua", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "UK register entry: protected geographical indication, registered 31 December 2020, reason ‘UK trade agreement’; no specification, area or altitude given. Read through a summarising fetch.", "quote": "Protected Geographical Indication (PGI)", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s19", "title": "Guatemala 2025 – Cup of Excellence results", "authors": "Alliance for Coffee Excellence", "year": 2025, "publisher": "Alliance for Coffee Excellence", "url": "https://allianceforcoffeeexcellence.org/guatemala-2025/", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "The organiser’s published results (A for its own results). COE auction 15 July 2025; categories Exotic Washed, Exotic Natural & Honey and One Of A Kind; highest score 91.15 (La Gran Manzana, Huehuetenango, Geisha, washed, lots 1A and 1B; USD 143.10 per lb for lot 1A). The ‘Region’ column mostly names municipalities, so no count by department is made. The page does not state Guatemala’s first competition year. Read through a summarising fetch.", "quote": "Exotic Natural & Honey", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s20", "title": "Guatemala 2026 – Cup of Excellence results", "authors": "Alliance for Coffee Excellence", "year": 2026, "publisher": "Alliance for Coffee Excellence", "url": "https://allianceforcoffeeexcellence.org/guatemala-2026/", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "The organiser’s published results (A for its own results). COE auction 23 July 2026; 27 ranked coffees in three categories (Exotic Washed 11, Exotic Natural and Honey 9, One Of A Kind 7), sold as 32 lots because the top coffees were split; highest score 91.86 (El Injerto I, Huehuetenango, Geisha, natural; split lots 1A–1C, USD 161.30 per lb for lot 1A). Read through a summarising fetch.", "quote": "El Injerto I", "quotes": [], "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s21", "title": "Projected Shifts in Coffea arabica Suitability among Major Global Producing Regions Due to Climate Change", "authors": "Ovalle-Rivera, O.; Läderach, P.; Bunn, C.; Obersteiner, M.; Schroth, G.", "year": 2015, "publisher": "PLoS ONE 10(4), e0124155", "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC4397088", "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0124155", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Peer-reviewed. Read on the PLOS page through a summarising fetch. Results for Mesoamerica as a region, with Guatemala named for the smallest loss of suitable area (19%) and for gains at 1,500–2,500 m.", "quote": "Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, and Costa Rica would gain suitability at elevations 1500–2500 masl", "quotes": [ { "text": "with largest losses for Mexico (29%) and smallest losses for Guatemala (19%)", "for": "Guatemala loss" }, { "text": "Higher temperatures would move the climates suitable for Arabica coffee from the current 400–2000 masl to 800–2500 masl.", "for": "Mesoamerica shift" } ], "scope": { "claim": "finding", "context": "Global suitability model, 2050s; Mesoamerica section, Guatemala named", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s22", "title": "Coffee C® Futures: contract specifications", "year": 2026, "publisher": "ICE Futures U.S.", "url": "https://www.ice.com/api/productguide/spec/15/pdf", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Exchange product specification, dated 2 November 2026; read through a summarising fetch. 500 points = 5 US cents per lb (our conversion).", "quote": "Coffees judged better are at a premium; those judged inferior are at a discount.", "quotes": [ { "text": "Guatemala at 500 point premium", "for": "Guatemala differential" } ], "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s23", "title": "El café guatemalteco, una tradición que se cosecha con esfuerzo y precisión", "authors": "Rodríguez, L.", "year": 2025, "publisher": "Agencia Guatemalteca de Noticias (AGN), Guatemala", "url": "https://agn.gt/el-cafe-guatemalteco-una-tradicion-que-se-cosecha-con-esfuerzo-y-precision/", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Article of the state news agency, 17 February 2025 (state institution, Tier A by the decision of 31 Oct 2026). The harvest sentence names no source; the article cites the agriculture ministry (MAGA) elsewhere. Added at verification as a second source for the harvest months, because source 8 could not be accessed. Read through a summarising fetch.", "quote": "Este proceso, que se inicia a finales de noviembre y concluye en marzo, varía según la región y la altitud donde se cultiva.", "quotes": [], "scope": { "claim": "description", "context": "Guatemala, national coffee harvest season", "checked": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" }, "accessed": "2026-11-03T00:00:00.000Z" } ], "markdown": "## Snapshot\n\nGuatemala grows mostly arabica (*C. arabica*) and a little robusta (*C. canephora*).5 The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) puts the 2025/26 crop at 3.16 million bags of 60 kg.1 That is 1.76% of the world total of 178.8 million bags (our calculation).1 USDA lowered its 2025/26 estimate by nearly 400,000 bags because of lower yields from coffee berry borer and leaf rust.1\n\nIn the statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Guatemala produced 224,860 t of green coffee in 2024.3 That ranks 11th among 78 countries and is 2.02% of their total (our calculation).3 Its national average yield was 598 kg/ha in 2024.4\n\nCoffee grows in all of Guatemala’s departments, according to the national coffee association, Anacafé.6 Most growers farm small units.5,6\n\n## Where coffee grows\n\nAnacafé reports coffee in all departments and in 261 of the 340 municipalities.6 It describes eight coffee regions: Huehuetenango, Acatenango, Antigua, Atitlán, Cobán, Fraijanes, Nuevo Oriente and San Marcos.7 Its region pages give altitude, rainfall, temperature and humidity, but name no departments.7\n\n
\n
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Interactive relief map of Guatemala. Layers: Anacafé’s eight coffee regions, marked at their name-giving places (positions approximate) with the altitude, rainfall, temperature and humidity it publishes; the Café Antigua geographical indication and places in the history of coffee; and where the 2012 leaf rust epidemic struck hardest and least. No official production table by department could be accessed.7,16,17,11,13
\n
\n\n**Altitude.** The regions lie between about 1,311 and 1,981 m (source: 4,300–6,500 ft; our conversion).7 Huehuetenango lies highest, at 1,524–1,981 m; Acatenango reaches the same upper limit.7 Cobán and Nuevo Oriente lie at 1,311–1,707 m.7 These are ranges for each region, not limits for every farm.\n\n
\n
\n
Altitude ranges of the eight coffee regions as Anacafé publishes them, converted from feet to metres (our conversion). The Antigua range is given without a unit and is read as feet.7
\n
\n\n**Volcanoes and limestone.** Anacafé describes Antigua as a valley surrounded by the volcanoes Agua, Fuego and Acatenango.7 It describes Cobán, in contrast, as cloudy, rainy and cool all year, on limestone and clay soils.7\n\n
\n
\n
Section from Escuintla on the Pacific slope, between the volcanoes Agua and Fuego, to Antigua Guatemala and Chimaltenango, then across the central highlands to Cobán. Shaded: the altitude ranges Anacafé gives for Antigua (1,524–1,707 m) and Cobán (1,311–1,707 m). Bracket: 400–1,400 m, where leaf rust struck with almost equal intensity in 2012. Dashed: 1,500 m, above which a 2015 model finds Guatemala gaining suitability by the 2050s. Vertical scale exaggerated about 20 times.7,13,21
\n
\n\n## Climate and harvest\n\nThe harvest usually begins in late November and runs to March, depending on region and altitude, according to the agriculture ministry.8,23 Harvest calendars compares these months with other origins.\n\n**Rain and temperature.** Rainfall differs widely between regions.7 Anacafé gives 813–1,219 mm a year for Antigua (source: 32–48 in) and 4,064–5,080 mm for San Marcos (source: 160–200 in; our conversion).7 In San Marcos, much of the coffee is pre-dried in the sun and finished in a Guardiola dryer, because rainfall during the harvest is unpredictable.7\n\n**The coffee year.** USDA uses an October–September marketing year for Guatemala.1 Anacafé’s coffee year 2024–2025 also ended on 30 September.6 Crop year and coffee year explains the different calendars.\n\n## Farms and people\n\nAnacafé represents more than 125,000 coffee growers and their families.6 Of these, 97% produce on small units.6 USDA gives a similar count of about 125,000 smallholder farmers.5\n\n**Who grows the coffee.** Small producers grow 50% of the national volume, according to Anacafé.6 USDA puts their share at 44%, with medium producers at 31% and large ones at 25%.5 Neither source defines the size classes in the passages consulted (see Contested).\n\n**Jobs.** The sector generates about half a million jobs a year, according to Anacafé.6\n\n## Varieties\n\nArabica covers about 98% of the planted area and robusta about 2%, according to USDA.5 USDA lists arabica cultivars sold as seed, including Anacafé 14, Anacafé 90, Cuscatleco, Catuaí, Catucaí and Caturra.5 About 30% of arabica trees are rust-tolerant hybrids.5 No variety census was consulted, so the share of each variety is not known.\n\n**Selected in Guatemala.** World Coffee Research catalogues the lineage of Anacafé 14 as a Catimor (Timor Hybrid 832/1 × Caturra) crossed with Pacamara; according to its history, the cross is thought to have arisen naturally.14 Anacafé released it as a commercial variety in 2014.14 Pache is a natural mutation of Typica; according to World Coffee Research, it was mass-selected on private farms in Guatemala.15 The Timor Hybrid explains the Catimor lines.\n\n## Processing\n\nAnacafé monitors the moisture, drying and cup quality of the harvest.9 In its monitoring of 2024/25, 92.1% of samples tasted clean.9 USDA classes 83% of green exports in 2023/24 as strictly hard bean (SHB).5 No source consulted gives the national shares of washed, natural and honey coffee. Washed process and drying describe the steps.\n\n## History\n\n**Arrival.** Coffee was introduced at the end of the 18th century, but at first was not grown for sale, according to a 1976 study.11 The same study reports an earlier writer’s account that Jesuits brought the first plants to their gardens in Antigua Guatemala.11 This is an attributed account, not a documented record.\n\n**From cochineal to coffee.** Cochineal, a red dye, was the leading export until its decline in 1865, when coffee replaced it.11 In 1862 Guatemala exported coffee worth 19,000 pesos.11\n\n**The Liberal reform.** A Liberal government took power on 30 June 1871.11 In 1873 it ordered the sale of public lands in Costa Cuca and El Palmar, coffee zones in Quetzaltenango.11 The Reglamento de Jornaleros of 1877 regulated farm labour; in the study’s assessment, it legalised forced labour.11\n\n**The coffee law.** The Ley del Café of 1969 defines Anacafé as a non-profit body under public law, made up of the country’s coffee growers.10\n\n**Leaf rust.** By May 2013, a state of phytosanitary emergency over leaf rust had been declared in Guatemala.12 Rust affected 70% of the coffee area in 2012/13, according to ICO figures from PROMECAFÉ.12\n\n## Trade and institutions\n\n**Exports.** In coffee year 2024/25, Guatemala exported 3,725,808 quintales of green coffee worth USD 1,284.7 million, according to Anacafé.6 The United States took 41% of exports in 2023/24, according to USDA.5\n\n**Anacafé.** The coffee law makes Anacafé the only body that may issue export and shipment permits.10 Anacafé also keeps statistics, runs extension services and monitors leaf rust.5,6\n\n**Geographical indication.** Café Antigua is protected in the EU under its association agreement with Central America.16 In October 2026 the EU registered it as a protected geographical indication (PGI).17 The United Kingdom registered it as a PGI on 31 December 2020.18\n\n**Competitions.** Guatemala holds a national Cup of Excellence competition and auction.19,20 Auctions and competitions explains the format.\n\n**On the futures market.** Guatemalan coffee is deliverable against New York’s Coffee “C” contract at a premium of 500 points, which is 5 US cents per lb (our conversion).22 Differentials explains these premiums and discounts.\n\n\n\n## Production over time\n\nThe FAO series runs from 1961. Production doubled from 100,600 t in 1961 to 202,400 t in 1990 (our calculation).2 It peaked at 312,060 t in 2000.2 After 272,432 t in 2012, it fell by 8.7% in 2013 and by 16.4% to 2014 (our calculation), the years of the leaf rust epidemic.2 Since 2014 it has varied between 212,848 t (2023) and 246,000 t (2020).2\n\n
\n
\n
Green coffee production of Guatemala, 1961–2024, in thousand tonnes, from FAO statistics by calendar year. The peak was 312,060 t in 2000; the fall after 2012 follows the leaf rust epidemic.2
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\n\n| Year | t | Year | t | Year | t | Year | t |\n|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|\n| 1961 | 100,6002 | 1977 | 168,2172 | 1993 | 208,6502 | 2009 | 247,5032 |\n| 1962 | 117,7002 | 1978 | 169,6362 | 1994 | 213,9002 | 2010 | 248,3552 |\n| 1963 | 104,4002 | 1979 | 164,8102 | 1995 | 210,9202 | 2011 | 265,4012 |\n| 1964 | 105,2002 | 1980 | 177,4302 | 1996 | 240,3002 | 2012 | 272,4322 |\n| 1965 | 126,1002 | 1981 | 193,8302 | 1997 | 271,4402 | 2013 | 248,6682 |\n| 1966 | 106,2002 | 1982 | 189,3302 | 1998 | 253,0802 | 2014 | 227,6532 |\n| 1967 | 102,3632 | 1983 | 183,0102 | 1999 | 293,5202 | 2015 | 225,6532 |\n| 1968 | 112,3922 | 1984 | 196,6102 | 2000 | 312,0602 | 2016 | 236,1452 |\n| 1969 | 118,6852 | 1985 | 181,6302 | 2001 | 261,0972 | 2017 | 224,0002 |\n| 1970 | 126,5462 | 1986 | 196,5602 | 2002 | 255,0912 | 2018 | 240,4002 |\n| 1971 | 128,3862 | 1987 | 193,2002 | 2003 | 244,2002 | 2019 | 216,4002 |\n| 1972 | 142,6822 | 1988 | 179,4002 | 2004 | 250,2792 | 2020 | 246,0002 |\n| 1973 | 145,6422 | 1989 | 193,2002 | 2005 | 248,2772 | 2021 | 226,7002 |\n| 1974 | 157,4372 | 1990 | 202,4002 | 2006 | 240,3312 | 2022 | 238,3542 |\n| 1975 | 139,0912 | 1991 | 196,1902 | 2007 | 248,6142 | 2023 | 212,8482 |\n| 1976 | 158,4332 | 1992 | 206,5862 | 2008 | 254,9142 | 2024 | 224,8602 |\n\nValues given with decimals in the source (2001–2002, 2006–2011 and 2014–2016) are rounded to whole tonnes.2\n\n**Yield.** FAO’s average yield was 598 kg/ha in 2024.4 It was 437 kg/ha in 1961, reached its highest value, 1,143 kg/ha, in 2000, and its lowest since 1970, 566 kg/ha, in 2023.4 USDA’s post estimates 10.26 bags of 60 kg per hectare for 2023/24.5 Coffee yields compares origins.\n\n**USDA’s recent series.** In USDA’s July 2026 tables, production was 3.54 million bags in 2021/22, 3.27 million in 2022/23, 3.47 million in 2023/24, 3.27 million in 2024/25 and 3.16 million in 2025/26.1 USDA forecasts 3.26 million bags for 2026/27.1 The arabica rows are 130,000 bags lower in each year from 2021/22 except 2022/23 (120,000), which we read as robusta (our calculation).1\n\n**Area and trees.** USDA’s post gives 376,000 ha planted and 338,000 ha harvested, the latter from a 2024 coffee map.5 It counts 1.63 billion bearing trees.5\n\n## Regions in detail\n\nAll values are as Anacafé publishes them on its region pages, converted to SI units (our conversion).7 Rainfall is read as annual.\n\n| Region (Anacafé name) | Altitude | Rainfall | Temperature | Relative humidity |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Huehuetenango (Highland Huehue) | 1,524–1,981 m (5,000–6,500 ft)7 | 1,219–1,422 mm (48–56 in)7 | 20.0–23.9 °C (68–75 °F)7 | 70–80%7 |\n| Acatenango (Acatenango Valley) | 1,311–1,981 m (4,300–6,500 ft)7 | 1,219–1,829 mm (48–72 in)7 | 13.9–31.1 °C (57–88 °F)7 | 70–80%7 |\n| Antigua (Antigua Coffee) | 1,524–1,707 m (5,000–5,600, unit not stated)7 | 813–1,219 mm (32–48 in)7 | 17.8–22.2 °C (64–72 °F)7 | 65%7 |\n| Atitlán (Traditional Atitlán) | 1,524–1,707 m (5,000–5,600 ft)7 | 1,829–2,337 mm (72–92 in)7 | 20.0–22.2 °C (68–72 °F)7 | 75–85%7 |\n| Cobán (Rainforest Cobán) | 1,311–1,707 m (4,300–5,600 ft)7 | 3,048–4,064 mm (120–160 in)7 | 15.0–20.0 °C (59–68 °F)7 | 85–95%7 |\n| Fraijanes (Fraijanes Plateau) | 1,372–1,829 m (4,500–6,000 ft)7 | 1,524–3,048 mm (60–120 in)7 | 12.2–26.1 °C (54–79 °F)7 | 70–90%7 |\n| Nuevo Oriente (New Oriente) | 1,311–1,707 m (4,300–5,600 ft)7 | 1,829–2,032 mm (72–80 in)7 | 17.8–25.0 °C (64–77 °F)7 | 70–80%7 |\n| San Marcos (Volcanic San Marcos) | 1,311–1,829 m (4,300–6,000 ft)7 | 4,064–5,080 mm (160–200 in)7 | 21.1–27.2 °C (70–81 °F)7 | 70–80%7 |\n\nThe pages print the four values without labels; which value is rainfall, temperature or humidity is our reading of the units.7 Anacafé writes that Acatenango coffee grows under dense shade up to 6,500 ft, which it gives as 2,000 m (1,981 m by our conversion).7 No official list of the departments or municipalities in each region was consulted.\n\n## Leaf rust, 2012–2013 and after\n\n| Item | Value | Source |\n|---|---|---|\n| Emergency | State of phytosanitary emergency declared; still in force in May 2013 | ICO12; Avelino et al. 201513 |\n| Area affected (2012/13) | 193,200 ha of 276,000 ha; incidence 70% | ICO, PROMECAFÉ figures12 |\n| Losses (2012/13) | 554,394 bags of 60 kg; USD 101.0 million | ICO, PROMECAFÉ figures12 |\n| Jobs lost (2012/13) | 75,000 of 500,000 | ICO, PROMECAFÉ figures12 |\n| Farms assessed | 1,224, in November 2012, by Anacafé | Avelino et al. 201513 |\n| Races identified (July 2013) | XXV and XXVIII | Avelino et al. 201513 |\n| Coffee area older than 25 years | 25% | Avelino et al. 201513 |\n| FAO production, 2012 to 2014 | 272,432 t to 227,653 t (−16.4%, our calculation) | FAO2 |\n| Incidence, 2023/24 | Below 10% | USDA 20255 |\n| Average incidence, August 2025 | 13.7% | Anacafé6 |\n\nThe ICO table’s columns are out of order in the text layer of its PDF. Our assignment matches the column totals and the 70% incidence in the report’s text.12\n\n**Weather and altitude.** A 2015 review used Anacafé data from 1,224 farms.13 In 2012, minimum daily temperatures in Guatemalan coffee areas were 0.9 °C higher and maximum temperatures 1.2 °C lower than usual.13 The review links this narrower daily range to a shorter latency period of the fungus.13 Attack intensities were almost equal at all altitudes from 400 to 1,400 m.13 Nationally, high-altitude Huehuetenango was lightly affected and the lower South Coast heavily affected.13 Unusually high rust levels had been detected in parts of southern and south-eastern Guatemala in 2011–12.13\n\n**Response.** Anacafé negotiated fungicide prices with agrochemical companies, according to the review.13 A USD 100 million trust fund served medium and large producers; smallholders without access to credit had no equivalent.13 Coffee leaf rust explains races and resistance.\n\n## Exports\n\n| Item | Value | Source |\n|---|---|---|\n| Exports, coffee year 2024/25 | 3,725,808 quintales oro (green coffee) | Anacafé6 |\n| Export earnings, 2024/25 | USD 1,284,710,833 | Anacafé6 |\n| Average value, 2024/25 | ≈USD 344.81 per quintal (our calculation) | Anacafé6 |\n| Green exports, 2023/24 | 3.15 million bags of 60 kg; 83% SHB | USDA 20255 |\n| Share to the United States, 2023/24 | 41% of total exports | USDA 20255 |\n| Bean exports, USDA tables | 3.34, 3.00, 3.15, 2.86 and 2.80 million bags (2021/22–2025/26); 2.88 million forecast (2026/27) | USDA1 |\n| Roast and ground exports, USDA tables | 4,000 bags (2021/22) to 30,000 bags (2025/26); 40,000 forecast (2026/27) | USDA1 |\n\nAnacafé’s report does not define the quintal in the passages consulted, so its volume is not converted here.6 USDA’s post lists Canada, Japan, Belgium, Italy, South Korea and Germany as the next markets after the United States.5\n\n## Geographical indications\n\n| Item | Café Antigua |\n|---|---|\n| Area named | Antigua, a valley surrounded by the volcanoes Agua, Fuego and Acatenango (Anacafé)7 |\n| Applicant for EU registration | Asociación de Productores de Café Genuino Antigua17 |\n| EU protection by agreement | Association Council Decision No 5/2014, 7 November 2014 (Annex XVIII, Part B)16 |\n| EU register | Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/2301 of 8 October 2026, PGI, in force 4 November 2026; application published 22 June 202617 |\n| UK protection | PGI, registered 31 December 202018 |\n| Registration in Guatemala | Not found in an official source consulted |\n| Area and altitude in the specification | Not consulted (the EU single document could not be accessed) |\n\nAnacafé’s own altitude for the Antigua region is 1,524–1,707 m, read as feet (see Regions in detail).7 That is the region’s profile, not the legal specification.\n\n## Cup of Excellence\n\nThe 2025 auction was held on 15 July 2025.19 The highest score, 91.15, went to a washed Geisha from La Gran Manzana in Huehuetenango; lot 1A sold at USD 143.10 per lb (2025).19 The 2026 auction was held on 23 July 2026, with 27 ranked coffees sold as 32 lots.20 Its highest score, 91.86, went to a natural Geisha from El Injerto I in Huehuetenango; lot 1A sold at USD 161.30 per lb (2026).20 Auctions and competitions compares prices across countries.\n\n## Research\n\nAnacafé’s research centre Cedicafé developed the first model of “life zones” for Guatemalan coffee, with three zones of slow, adequate and rapid growth.6 USDA reports 122 weather stations in operation, with data available to producers.5 It also monitors coffee quality and leaf rust.6,9\n\n**Quality monitoring, 2024/25.** Anacafé evaluated 127 samples between November 2024 and January 2025.9\n\n| Parameter | Value | Source |\n|---|---|---|\n| Target moisture | 10–12% for green coffee after drying (basis not stated) | Anacafé9 |\n| Mean moisture | 10.99% (basis not stated) | Anacafé9 |\n| Samples within the target | 65% | Anacafé9 |\n| Clean cups | 92.1% of samples | Anacafé9 |\n| Uneven drying | 65.6% of samples | Anacafé9 |\n\n## Climate risk\n\nA 2015 global model projects that climates suitable for arabica in Mesoamerica move from 400–2,000 m to 800–2,500 m by the 2050s.21 Guatemala has the smallest loss of suitable area in the region, 19%.21 It gains suitability at 1,500–2,500 m.21 These are model projections, not forecasts by Coffearium.\n\nAnacafé’s regions lie at 1,311–1,981 m (our conversion).7 The upper part of each range lies above the 1,500 m where the model finds gains (our reading).7,21\n\n## Reference values\n\n| Parameter | Value | Source |\n|---|---|---|\n| Production, USDA | 3.16 million 60-kg bags (2025/26); 3.26 million forecast (2026/27) | USDA1 |\n| Production, FAO | 224,860 t (2024); peak 312,060 t (2000) | FAO2,3 |\n| Share of world output | 1.76% (2025/26, USDA); 2.02% (2024, FAO); our calculation | USDA1, FAO3 |\n| Species | Arabica ≈98%, robusta ≈2% of planted area | USDA 20255 |\n| Coffee area | 376,000 ha planted; 338,000 ha harvested | USDA 20255 |\n| Yield | 598 kg/ha (FAO, 2024) | FAO4 |\n| Municipalities with coffee | 261 of 340; all departments | Anacafé6 |\n| Altitude of the regions | 1,311–1,981 m (our conversion from 4,300–6,500 ft) | Anacafé7 |\n| Harvest | Late November to March | MAGA8, AGN23 |\n| Growers | More than 125,000; 97% small | Anacafé6 |\n| Exports | 3,725,808 quintales oro; USD 1,284.7 million (2024/25) | Anacafé6 |\n| SHB share of green exports | 83% (2023/24) | USDA 20255 |\n| Leaf rust, 2012/13 | 193,200 ha affected of 276,000 ha | ICO12 |\n| Coffee “C” differential | +500 points | ICE22 |\n| Coffee law | Decreto 19-69, passed 22 April 1969 | Congreso10 |\n| Café Antigua | EU PGI (Regulation 2026/2301); UK PGI (2020) | EU17, UK18 |\n\n## Open questions\n\n- **Production by department.** No official table of production or area by department was consulted; Anacafé’s 2024–2025 report gives no national production or area.6\n- **Regions and departments.** Anacafé’s region pages name no departments or municipalities, and the boundaries of the eight regions are not documented here.7\n- **Café Antigua.** The EU single document and the Guatemalan registration record were not consulted, so the legal area, altitude and date of national registration are not given.17\n- **Size of the crop.** USDA’s tables and its post report differ by 0.26 million bags for 2024/25 and 0.39 million for 2025/26 (our calculation), and FAO’s 2024 value is higher than USDA’s 2025/26 figure (see Contested).1,3,5\n- **Processing shares.** No source consulted gives the national shares of washed, natural and honey coffee.\n- **Variety shares.** Apart from USDA’s 30% of rust-tolerant hybrids, no variety census was consulted.5\n- **Early history.** No primary record of the first plantings was consulted; the Jesuit account is reported second-hand.11\n\n## Key studies\n\n
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Avelino et al., 2015 – The rust crises in Colombia and Central America. Reviews the 2008–2013 epidemics and their drivers. For Guatemala it uses Anacafé’s survey of 1,224 farms in November 2012 and links the epidemic to a narrower daily temperature range in 2012. It also records the races identified in 2013 and the support measures for producers.

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Food Security 7(2), 303–321 · doi:10.1007/s12571-015-0446-9

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Ovalle-Rivera et al., 2015 – Arabica suitability under climate change. Modelled suitability for arabica in the main producing regions by the 2050s. In Mesoamerica suitable climates move upwards; Guatemala loses the smallest share of suitable area in the region and gains land at 1,500–2,500 m.

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PLoS ONE 10(4), e0124155 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0124155

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Cazali Ávila, 1976 – Coffee and agricultural labour in the Liberal reform. Traces how coffee replaced cochineal after 1865 and how the Liberal governments from 1871 sold public land and regulated labour for coffee estates. It gives production statistics for 1880 and reads the labour regulation of 1877 as a legalisation of forced labour.

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Anuario de Estudios Centroamericanos 2(1), 35–93 · Universidad de Costa Rica

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