Coffee production in Honduras
Encyclopedia
The coffee production in Honduras played a role in the country's history and is important for the Honduran economy
. In 2011, the country became Central America
's top producer of coffee
.
The cultivation of the coffee plant was in its infancy in the Republic of Honduras at the end of the 19th century. While there were numerous coffee plantations at the time, they were small. The soil, climate, and conditions in Honduras are the same as those of Guatemala
, Nicaragua
, or Costa Rica
. The drawback in Honduras was lack of means of transportation and facilities for shipment to the coast. There was practically no exportation of coffee from Honduras, the product was mostly sold domestically. A new plantation of coffee would begin to produce a profit by the end of the fourth year after planting, and after the seventh year a profit of from 100 to 300 per cent on the capital invested could be expected. The production of coffee in 1894 was reckoned at 20,000 quintals, of which only 10 per cent was exported. The exportation was from the Salvadorean ports Amapola and Puerto Cortes. In 1900, Honduras exported 54,510 pesos worth of coffee.
Economy of Honduras
The economy of Honduras is based mostly on agriculture, which accounted for 22% of its gross domestic product in 1999. Leading export coffee accounted for 22% of total Honduran export revenues. Bananas, formerly the country's second-largest export until being virtually wiped out by 1998's...
. In 2011, the country became Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
's top producer of coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
.
History
19th centuryThe cultivation of the coffee plant was in its infancy in the Republic of Honduras at the end of the 19th century. While there were numerous coffee plantations at the time, they were small. The soil, climate, and conditions in Honduras are the same as those of Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, or Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. The drawback in Honduras was lack of means of transportation and facilities for shipment to the coast. There was practically no exportation of coffee from Honduras, the product was mostly sold domestically. A new plantation of coffee would begin to produce a profit by the end of the fourth year after planting, and after the seventh year a profit of from 100 to 300 per cent on the capital invested could be expected. The production of coffee in 1894 was reckoned at 20,000 quintals, of which only 10 per cent was exported. The exportation was from the Salvadorean ports Amapola and Puerto Cortes. In 1900, Honduras exported 54,510 pesos worth of coffee.