...More news about Roya in Central America

By Jean Guerrero /DJ news

El Salvador is giving thousands of coffee producers   pesticides, fertilizer
and other tools to combat a coffee-eating fungus  known  as roya that has
spread to nearly half of the country's plantations,  the  Salvadoran Coffee
Council said Monday.

The council said between  40%  and 50% of the country's coffee-cultivated land
is seeing an unusually   aggressive roya attack, and that the government is
subsidizing   productivity-boosting products to help offset some of
  theeffects.

Roughly 5,000 of the country's 20,000 coffee producers
  are expected to benefit. The council said this is the first time the
  government has intervened on such a widespread level in the coffee
  sector.

The Central American country still expects production during the   current
2012-2013 season that began Oct. 1 and runs through September of
next  year to yield 1.4 million 60-kilogram bags of coffee, up 22% from last
  season's output.

But in 2013-2014, production will likely drop as a   result of the fungus,
which causes the leaves of coffee plants to fall,   resulting in long-term
damage. The council said it is too early to emit a   forecast.