Nicaragua's 2026-27 coffee harvest is officially under way. Eduardo Escobar, head of the country's National Committee for the Transformation and Development of Coffee Growing (CONATRADEC), confirmed that harvest prospects are stable and international market conditions favorable — and that despite weather challenges in some growing areas, the season's production target stays put at 3 million quintals.
Escobar explained that the target was set under the national production, consumption and trade plan and implies a decline of less than 7%. The number, he said, was drawn up "very cautiously," with the potential impact of El Niño fully factored in.
After a stretch of volatile weather, conditions across the country's coffee regions now look positive: crops at mid and high altitudes are developing steadily and normally. Under coffee's biennial bearing cycle, output would ordinarily be expected to rise this season — but the committee has chosen restraint and left the target unchanged.
Zoom out, and coffee carries real weight for this Central American economy. In 2025, the industry earned $918.4 million, a record. The momentum has carried into 2026: exports had already topped $700 million by the end of September, and with October, November and December still to be counted, the full year is expected to reach $800 to $900 million — possibly more.
For the new season, the industry expects international prices to keep working in Nicaragua's favor. Prices, Escobar said, will remain at very advantageous levels, and he expects new-crop exports to exceed $700 million.
Much of that price strength rests on quality. Nicaraguan coffee fetched an average of $294 per quintal in 2026. The 22nd Cup of Excellence competition held this year set a new record, with one lot selling at $140 per pound — the equivalent of $14,000 per quintal. At the recent international La Leyenda auction, which brought together 12 champion coffees from six countries, a Nicaraguan lot took second place at $270 per pound, or $27,000 per quintal.
Europe remains Nicaragua's largest coffee market, buying from more than 18 countries, while Asia's share has climbed to roughly 10-12% of total exports. On the China front, at least 30 containers are already confirmed for shipment, handled by 13 companies registered with Chinese customs.
Coffee is also a pillar of rural employment. Plantings cover 252,000 manzanas — about 176,000 hectares — across 60 municipalities, and close to 500,000 people work in the sector, from picking and cultivation to processing, trading and transport. By job creation, coffee is the single largest contributor in Nicaraguan agriculture.
Record prices and record-setting auctions on one side, a target trimmed by less than 7% and the shadow of El Niño on the other: the storylines for Nicaragua's new season are clear. Production now hinges on the weather, while prices will depend on whether specialty auctions keep underwriting origin premiums. For buyers, Nicaraguan lots belong near the top of the watch list this season.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
