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Guatemala Green Coffee Export
Intro
Coffee from Guatemala can have a range of flavors including lighter, fruity and complex, all the way to heavier and more chocolaty cups. Ranking 11th in coffee production volume in 2024, it makes up 2% of the global production at 3.5 million 60kg bags. Much of the country’s producer communities are highly accessible due to infrastructure like roads, education, and financial support funded by the government in the early 1900s, all of which help with coffee’s mobility across widely diverse landscapes and elevations. Smallholder farmers make up much of the country’s production and aretypically represented by regional cooperatives, but there are lots of private family-run estates in the country as well. Producers are supported by the country’s coffee association La Asociación Nacional del Café (ANACAFÉ), founded in 1960.
Export Stats
In 2024 the country exported $967M dollars worth of coffee with the top three destinations being the United States($388M), Canada($103M) and Japan($90.8M).
Roughly 30% of cultivated hybrids are rust tolerant and produce high-quality coffee. Over the past year the harvest coffee area is predicted to increase 2%, which is supported by trees maturing and finally at production levels. Arabica accounts for roughly 98% of the planted area, mostly in higher altitude with most of the planted coffee being less susceptible to coffee leaf rust.
Production
Small growers make up 97% of the production with medium growers making up 2.9% and larger growers making up the remaining 0.1%. Coffee leaf rust and coffee borer (pest) are issues that are closely monitored by ANACAFE to provide preventative recommendations to producers.
Coffee yields are sensitive to changing weather patterns this impacts the prevalence of pests and diseases with rust being the most closely monitored. Increases in international prices have provided the financial means to activate the implementation of nutritional programs and disease programs that support the growth of the industry.
Overall consumption remains low but has increased from 2025/2026 to 2026/2027 by 2.9%. Efforts have been made to support internal coffee consumption but soluble coffee remains the top consumed and it continues to grow. Most soluble coffee is mostly imported from other countries like Brazil.
Check out this interview with Jose Alejandro Solis Chavis, a third generation coffee farmer on their perspective of current specialty coffee production in the country and social media’s impact.
Growing Regions
Anacafe, the country’s private national regulator and promoter of coffees, heavily markets different growing regions, including “Highland” Huehuetenango, “Volcanic” San Marcos, “Traditional” Atitlan, Acetenango Valley, Fraijanes Plateau, “Rainforest” Coban, New Oriente, and of course, Genuine Antigua Coffee.
Coffee growing regions are very distinguished in Guatemala. Antigua is a well-known coffee production region in Guatemala. In the 2000s there was an issue of fraudulent Antigua coffee that spurred a Denomination of Origin under the name ‘Genuine Antigua Coffee”. Huehuetenango also know as Huehue is also a well-known region and translated from Nahautl as ‘place of the ancients’ or ‘place of the ancestors’. This area has the highest non-volcanic mountains in Central America that are well-suited to coffee growing . Traceability from regions is relatively easy to obtain because many producers have their own wet mills and process their own coffee. This means you can trace coffee back to the co-op or producer group that grew the coffee.
Guatemala grades coffee by altitude and ranges from Prime (750-900m), Extra Prime(900-1050m), Semi Hard Bean(1050-1220m), Hard Bean(1220m-1300m) and Strictly Hard Bean (1300m+). European prep (size 15 and above, maximum of 8 defects within 300gr) and American prep (screen size 13 and above with 23 defects within 300gr) is used to denote size grading.
In 2025, coffee represented approx. 3% of the GDP and was the main agro-industrial export product. Coffee production is in 261 of 340 of Guatemala’s municipalities and remains important for the overall economy of the country.
Cultivars
Cultivars common to the region include Catimors and Sarchimors, Bourbon, Catuai, Caturra and Pache. Catuai was originally developed in Brazil in the 1970’s, eventually spreading to Central America countries like Honduras and Costa Rica.. When it was introduced in Guatemala in 1970 it spread widely and quickly and now makes up 20% of the Arabica production. Caturra, a natural mutation of the Bourbon cultivar, was discovered around 1915, also in Brazil. By the 1940’s it was brought to Guatemala but its cultivation took longer to be widely adopted, approximately three decades. From Guatemala, it spread to other Central American countries like Costa Rica and Honduras. Pache it a natural mutation of typica and was discovered in 1949 in Santa Rosa, Guatemala. Once it was discovered, it was selected and stabilized so that seeds could be distributed to other regions and countries.
In the early 1980s, in southeastern Chiquimula, Guatemala, near the country’s border with Honduras, a farmer named Francisco Manchamé observed something strange on his farm. Catimors growing alongside Pacamara plants created a new spontaneous hybrid. Manchamé, and later Anacafé, would undertake an intensive “selection” process, where many plants are bred en masse and then the best of the seedlings are chosen for desired characteristics. Finally, in 2014, Anacafé began distributing their improved Catimor-Pacamara hybrid called (unimaginatively) Anacafé-14.
Logistics:
ANACAFE was created by the government to support coffee production and exportations, they provide licenses for Guatemalan coffee. Trust funds have also been created to support farmers and was supposed to end in 2025 but was extended until 2052. This extension further enhances banking services for the coffee sector including providing measures to streamlining the value chain but providing things like digital payment options. ANACAFE supports coordinates logistics and provides guidance on agronomic practices to support plantation productivity.
Guatemala is well established in terms of its logistics set up for producers and co-ops alike. Many farmers have their own wet mills and process their own coffee which gives a vantage for quality and traceability. Given that many producers are small farmers in remote regions, it’s not always straight forward. But, compared to some other countries investment in infrastructure makes it a bit easier. Overall, the country has a long-standing history of traceability and high-quality coffees.
There are two main ports in Guatemala, Port Quetzal on the southern side and Port Santo Tomas on the eastern side of the country.
Port Quetzal is the largest Pacific Ocean port for the country and is good for both cargo traffic as well as stops for cruise ships. The port is close to both the Panama Canal along with other Mexican ports, creating a very advantageous position. Despite the many cruise lines supporting tourism and the advantageous port, the country remains of the poorer Latin America countries.
Port Santo Tomas de Castilla is situated on the Atlantic portion of the country and provides port access for the northern region of the country. Both of these ports are owned and regulated by the government to support and manage port operations.
Royal Coffee Availability:
Flush with new arrivals, we have a large range of Guatemalan coffees available at the moment. Large lots from Huehuetenango and Antigua are ready to purchase both on the website and through our trading team. The large lots are available along with some microlots such as a washed Gesha, natural Gesha 56 and a washed Antigua under our Cown Jewel line.