Colombia's main coffee export port, Buenaventura, partially reopened on August 12. The earlier magnitude 7.4 earthquake had blocked the highway that carries most of the country's coffee to the coast. Asoexport, the National Association of Coffee Exporters, confirmed the restart.
Key Facts
- Buenaventura, which handles 60% of Colombia's coffee exports, restarted cargo movement on August 12.
- Colombian coffee exports are forecast to fall 4.1% to 11.8 million bags for MY2025/26, from 12.3 million.
- Up 1.04% on August 11, arabica futures fell 2.2% two days later as Buenaventura reopened.
The magnitude 7.4 quake struck western Colombia on August 10, with an epicenter near San José del Palmar in the Chocó department.
It is among the strongest earthquakes to hit the country in decades, according to Colombia's national geological service. More than 265 people were killed and close to 500 remained unaccounted for as of August 12. World Coffee Portal reported the figures, citing Reuters.
The disruption comes during a tighter year for Colombian coffee overall. USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service forecasts Colombian exports at 11.8 million 60-kilogram bags for the 2025/26 marketing year, down 4.1% from 12.3 million the year before.
USDA attributes the decline mainly to lower production after heavy rains.
Buenaventura Reopens With Limited Cargo Traffic
Buenaventura handles about 60% of Colombia's coffee exports, according to Expana coffee analyst Oliver Broster.
Broster spoke to the Financial Times. The port paused operations after the quake blocked access roads, including tunnels on the Cali-Buenaventura highway.
"Coffee operations are currently paused," Gustavo Gómez, president of Asoexport, told Bloomberg on August 11.
Heavy cargo trucks resumed moving through the port on August 12. Exporters began dispatching shipments the same day, Gómez said.
Traffic through the port remained infrequent and constrained, Global Coffee Report reported. Exporters reported no significant damage to coffee processing and milling facilities near Buenaventura.
Exporters Reroute to Caribbean Ports Amid Truck Shortage
Not all of Colombia's coffee exports run through Buenaventura. Germán Bahamón, general manager of the National Federation of Coffee Growers, told Reuters that exports continued through Caribbean ports.
The Caribbean routes kept operating even while Buenaventura was paused. Those routes include Cartagena, Santa Marta, and Puerto Antioquia.
Exporters are also rerouting cargo away from Buenaventura to ease congestion, Global Coffee Report reported. But the coastal ports face a shortage of trucks able to move coffee from inland growing regions. That shortage limits how quickly volume can move away from Buenaventura.
Farm Damage Assessment Still Incomplete
The FNC has not released comprehensive damage figures for coffee farms, mills, or dry-processing facilities in the Eje Cafetero, according to Daily Coffee News. The region includes Caldas, Risaralda, and Quindío, the departments hit hardest by the quake. Guillermo Arcila, the federation's director of social development, is leading the assessment, according to Daily Coffee News.
His team includes departmental committees and the federation's extension service.
Daily Coffee News reported that Caravela Coffee's dry mill in Armenia, Quindío, sustained damage and was shut down as a precaution. The company reported no serious injuries among its staff.
Arabica futures gave back some of their early gains as the reopening news spread. The December New York contract fell 2.2% to 312.80 cents a pound on August 13, according to market commentary from ADMIS and Comunicaffe. ICE certified arabica stocks slipped to 236,430 bags that day, the lowest level since December 2023.
