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Specialty coffee became a lifeline for many producing countries after the price crisis of the early 2000s. El Salvador is a striking example of this. Today, the volume of coffee exported is only a quarter of what it was at the turn of the millennium. Low market prices and the leaf rust crisis of 2012-2013 led many producers to abandon coffee or their farms altogether. Yet, some farms still thrive. These are the ones that embraced specialty coffee and direct trade.
The Impact of War and Reform
There was a time when coffee was El Salvador’s main export. In 1910, the country was the largest coffee producer in Central America. Between the 1920s and 1940s, coffee symbolised wealth, bringing in revenue that funded investments in health and education. In 1970, El Salvador exported nearly four million bags of coffee—almost five times the amount exported today.
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It was after the second World War that the country’s coffee production started to suffer. Many producers who had started growing coffee during the war due to a boom in demand went into debt shortly after. The 1980s brought significant changes with the government’s agrarian reform, which led many medium-sized farmers to lose their land. The last phase of this reform, “Land for the Tiller,” included the expropriation of small plots leased to others.
At the same time, the Salvadoran Civil War (1979-1992) severely impacted coffee production, reducing volumes by nearly 20% over seven years. Many producers in conflict areas abandoned their land. The war left the country’s economy in ruins, forcing many coffee farmers to mortgage their land for loans.
The Challenges of the 2000s
By the 2000s, coffee growing had become so risky that producers' love for coffee began to fade. The price crisis forced many smallholders to switch to other crops like beans and corn, costing the country hundreds of thousands of bags in exports. The final blow was the leaf rust crisis of 2012-2013, which led to the loss of around 60% of the plantations. With no government intervention or investment, many producers had no choice but to abandon their lands.
The Resilience of Salvadoran Coffee
Despite these challenges, Salvadoran coffee producers have built a great reputation for quality. When buyers think of El Salvador, they often think of the exotic varieties discovered here, like Pacas and Pacamara, rather than the country's scarred political past. Coffee from El Salvador is renowned for its full-bodied and creamy texture, with notes of berries, stone fruits, citric acidity, chocolate, and butterscotch. The producers who made it in the international market have adopted careful post-harvesting practices and embraced more high-quality varieties like Gesha, Bernardina, and Marsellesa.
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Today, most coffee is produced in the Western part of El Salvador, in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec and El Bálsamo Quetzaltepec mountain ranges. The country also has other coffee-producing regions: Alotepec-Metapán in the North, Chichontepec in the Centre, and Tecapa-Chinameca and Cacahuatique in the East. Most farmers sell their coffee to mills or intermediaries, and many are now following Costa Rica's example by using mills as service providers or building their own.
Since 2018, Salvadoran producers and mills have been using Algrano to sell and ship their coffees. Farms that have been in families for decades, sometimes over a century, are now led by a tech-savvy and highly connected new generation. New coffee producers are also entering the field, driven by a love of nature and the environment. This makes El Salvador an excellent place to find partners who speak buyers’ language. It’s also a great origin for roasters who value female-produced coffee, as more than 35% of the country’s 19,000 producers are women. Despite the challenges, there’s a positive outlook for Salvadoran coffee, with many opportunities for collaboration