Over the past 18 months, Colombia has lost 40,000 hectares (99,000 acres) of coffee planting space, farmers are leaving the industry due to low prices, the head of the national coffee federation said Wednesday on May 8, warning of a “humanitarian crisis”.

Robusta coffee in the New York market fell in price to a nine-year low, while Arabica on Tuesday reached a 13-year low of 88 cents per pound, as production volumes exceed global demand.

The domestic price received by Colombian farmers for every 125 kg (275 pounds) was 688,000 pesos ($ 209), which does not cover production costs estimated at 780,000 pesos ($ 237), said Roberto Veles, head of the National Federation of Producers coffee.

“This has already gone beyond the economic crisis and is becoming a humanitarian crisis. You see, coffee makers are starting to decide to stop making coffee and move on to other cultures. Last year, Colombia lost 40,000 hectares out of 920,000, and now we have 880,000 hectares, ”Veles said.

Sources in the federation estimate that about 25,000 families refused to grow coffee in order to engage in activities such as producing avocados or citrus fruits or even transferring their land to tourism.

The head of the National Federation of Coffee Producers said the price of the product should be between $ 1.40 and $ 1.45 per pound plus a small margin.