Nicaragua

Coffee is Nicaragua's leading export, grown chiefly in the northern highlands of Jinotega, Matagalpa and Nueva Segovia by a mix of estates, cooperatives and small growers. Decades of political upheaval and leaf rust held back specialty development, but Cup of Excellence results from Nueva Segovia have raised its profile. Coffee is mostly fully washed and shipped through the Pacific port of Corinto.

ArabicaRobusta / Conilon Harvesting in November

Production 2026/27
2.44Mbags146k t · USDA PSD
Exports 2026/27
2.25Mbags92% of the harvest
Arabica share
94%
World rank
12of 401.3% of origin output
Area harvested 2023
148khaFAOSTAT
Altitude
not published

Production and exports

60 kg bags · USDA PSD market years
01M2M3M4M201020122014201620182020202220242026Production2.4MExports2.3MDomestic use0.2M
01M2M3M4M’10’20Production2.4MExports2.3MDomestic use0.2M

Market years 2010/11 to 2026/27; the last year is USDA's current estimate. Domestic use is PSD's domestic consumption line.

Area harvested, hectares · FAOSTAT

80k100k120k140k160k180k’10’15’20Area148k

FAOSTAT crops and livestock products, item green coffee (CC BY 4.0). Values flagged as estimates by FAO are included as published.

Where the coffee goes

Supply and use
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Production, Supply and Distribution (PSD), market years. Supply on the left equals use on the right.
Stocks carried in55k
Production2.44M
Imports0
Exports2.25M
Domestic use160k
Stocks carried out85k
Share of the harvest exported92%
Rank among producing origins by exports13 of 37

Where the exports go is not published here. Shipments by destination, including US imports from Nicaragua, come from USITC DataWeb and the Census trade API, which need credentials we do not hold yet.

Harvest

Harvest calendar for every origin
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

Main cropTypical US arrival

  • Whole country · main cropNov–Mar · US Apr–Jul

    Cafe Imports October-March (arrivals April-July); Mercanta December-March on its origin page and November-March on its seasonality page (arrivals late June-July).

Growing regions

5 regions

Varieties, processing and grading

Main varieties

CaturraBourbonCatuaíCatimorMaracaturraMaragogipePacamara

Common processing

Washed (wet, fully washed)

Export grading

Central American and Mexican altitude grades (SHB/HB, SHG/HG, Altura)

ICO certifying agent: Centro de Trámites de las Exportaciones (CETREX), Ministerio de Fomento, Industria y Comercio

Character and protected names

Flavour tendencies

The sources used do not describe a typical cup for Nicaragua; this page does not invent one.

General tendencies from importer origin notes, not a promise about any lot. The claims behind them are listed with their sources at the foot of the page.

Geographical indications and protected names

None recorded for Nicaragua.