Growing coffee in Peru
What is Peruvian coffee like?
Peru grows about 4.8 million 60 kg bags of coffee a year, all of it arabica, mostly Typica and Caturra, on small shade-grown farms on the eastern slopes of the Andes. Cajamarca, San Martín and Junín grow the most. The harvest runs from April to September, peaking in June and July, and Peru is the world's biggest exporter of organic coffee.
At a glance
2026- Production
- 4.8m bags
- 2026/27 forecast, 60 kg bags
- World rank
- No. 9
- 2.5% of world output
- Species
- Arabica only
- Harvest
- April–September, peaking June–July
- Area under coffee
- 370,000–427,000 ha, depending on the source
- Growers
- About 223,000 coffee-growing families; over 90% farm under 5 ha
- Exports
- US$1.8bn in 2025, a record; about 4.5m bags a year
- Main varieties
- Typica, Caturra, Bourbon, Catimor, Pache, Geisha
- Protected name
- Café Villa Rica (denomination of origin, 2010); Café Machu Picchu–Huadquiña (denomination of origin)
Production: USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Coffee: World Markets and Trade (July 2026). Other figures describe 2026 and come from the sources at the end of this page. Updated once a year.
Growing regions
All origins- CajamarcaCompetition farms at about 1,870 m; farms up to about 2,300 mCoffee from Cajamarca, Peru: Jaén and San Ignacio, home of Peru’s best Cup of Excellence coffees and about half its coffee exports. Altitude, harvest, figures.
- Junín (Selva Central)Coffee from Junín, Peru: the Selva Central valleys of Chanchamayo and Satipo, once Peru’s coffee heartland, hit hard by leaf rust. Figures, harvest, history.
- San MartínCoffee from San Martín, Peru: the country’s biggest coffee region by the ministry’s count, about 64,000 hectares around Moyobamba, Rioja and Lamas.
Peru grows coffee the small way. Almost all of it comes from family farms of a few hectares on the eastern slopes of the Andes, grown under shade, picked by hand and dried in the sun. It is all arabica, mostly old Typica, and so much of it is grown without chemicals that Peru is the world’s biggest exporter of organic coffee. Here’s how much, where, when and where it goes.
The short version
- About 4.8 million bags a year, all arabica.
- Small farms: over 90% of growers farm less than 5 hectares.
- Cajamarca, San Martín and Junín grow the most.
- Harvest April–September, peaking in June and July.
- The world’s biggest organic coffee exporter.
- Record exports of US$1.8 billion in 2025.
How much coffee does Peru grow?
About 4.8 million bags. USDA’s figures, for a coffee year from April to March, in 60 kg bags:
| Coffee year | Production | Exports | Area harvested |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 4.12 million | 3.91 million | 332,000 ha |
| 2025/26 (estimate) | 4.76 million | 4.55 million | 335,000 ha |
| 2026/27 (forecast) | 4.78 million | 4.55 million | 340,000 ha |
Source: USDA, May 2026.
Peru’s own figures come in tonnes, and in two forms, which is why they look so different:
| Year | Figure | What it measures | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 239,600 t | Green coffee | Junta Nacional del Café |
| 2024 | 359,061 t | Parchment coffee, still in its husk | Agriculture ministry, via Revista Economía |
| 2025 | About 255,000 t | Green coffee (estimate) | Junta Nacional del Café |
The Junta Nacional del Café, the growers’ federation, warns that Peru is losing ground: it grew 3.73% of the world’s coffee in 2011 but only 2.25% in 2024, and 70–75% of its coffee area needs renewing because the trees are more than 15 years old. Its farms yield only about 671 kg of green coffee a hectare, it says.
Where is coffee grown in Peru?
Along the eastern slopes of the Andes, in 16 of Peru’s 25 regions, USDA says. The big four:
| Region | Share of production (USDA) | Parchment coffee, 2024 (ministry) |
|---|---|---|
| Cajamarca | 22% | 76,700 t |
| San Martín | 20% | 81,800 t |
| Junín | 19% | 67,400 t |
| Amazonas | 15% | 55,400 t |
Sources: USDA, May 2026; agriculture ministry figures via Revista Economía.
The ministry also names Cusco, Huánuco and Pasco among the main regions. Cusco, one of the highest regions, grows little, the importer Sustainable Harvest says, but produced the runner-up in the national Cup of Excellence in 2022 and 2024; Puno has grown much less since the rust outbreak of 2014.
The coffee: Typica, shade and altitude
All of Peru’s coffee is arabica: more than 70% Typica, about 20% Caturra and the rest other varieties, USDA says, including Bourbon, Catimor, Pache and Geisha, the ministry adds. About three-quarters grows at 1,000–1,800 metres, under shade, at about 2,000 plants a hectare. It is picked by hand, washed and sun-dried, mostly by the farmers themselves, then sold to local buyers, cooperatives or exporters.
When is coffee harvested in Peru?
From April to September, peaking in June and July; about 85% of the crop is picked by the end of July, USDA says. In Cajamarca, heavy rain during the harvest is the main risk, so good drying matters, according to Sustainable Harvest.
Who grows Peruvian coffee?
Small farmers, though the counts differ:
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee-growing families | About 223,000 | Agriculture ministry; USDA |
| Producers | About 200,000 | Junta Nacional del Café |
| Area | 427,000 ha (2023) | Agriculture ministry |
| Area | About 380,000 ha, down from 425,000 in 2012 | Junta Nacional del Café |
| Area planted | 370,000 ha (2025/26) | USDA |
| Farm size | Over 90% under 5 ha | USDA |
| In cooperatives | Only about 30% | Agriculture ministry |
Coffee supports about 2 million jobs along the chain, the ministry says. The government promotes it as a legal alternative to coca, through the anti-drug agency DEVIDA, USDA reports.
Organic and speciality coffee
Peru is the world’s leading producer and exporter of organic coffee, the agriculture ministry says, with about 90,000 hectares certified, according to USDA, and many more farmed organically simply because chemicals are too expensive. Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance and other certifications are common.
At the top end, Peru has run its own Cup of Excellence (Taza de Excelencia) since 2017. Recent winners have scored above 90 points, and Cajamarca has produced five of the eight winners, including the 2024 champion, a Geisha and Bourbon from San Ignacio scoring 90.54.
Protected names
Peru has two denominations of origin for coffee, both granted by Indecopi:
| Name | Where | Granted |
|---|---|---|
| Café Villa Rica | Villa Rica district, Oxapampa, Pasco | 2010 |
| Café Machu Picchu–Huadquiña | Huadquiña, Santa Teresa, La Convención, Cusco | Not given in our source |
The Machu Picchu–Huadquiña coffee grows near the snow peaks of Salkantay, Sacsarayoc and Humantay, which create a cool microclimate that slows ripening, Indecopi says. Chanchamayo, in Junín, has also sought a denomination.
Where does Peruvian coffee go?
Mostly to the United States (32% in 2024/25), Germany (16%) and Belgium (11%), USDA says. Exports reached a record US$1.8 billion in 2025, going to 52 markets, the ministry says, and export prices averaged US$7,577 a tonne in 2025/26, up 55%. Coffee is Peru’s top traditional farm export.
How do Peruvians drink their coffee?
Mostly instant: about 75% of the coffee Peruvians drink, USDA says, though young city drinkers are switching to roasted coffee. The Junta Nacional del Café puts consumption at about 1.6 kg a person a year, 600 g of it imported instant. The traditional home brew is esencia de café, a strong coffee essence dripped slowly and diluted in the cup. Peru celebrates its coffee on the fourth Friday of August, the Día del Café Peruano.
Peruvian coffee and other origins
- Coffee in Colombia: the Andean neighbour to the north.
- Coffee in Brazil: the giant next door.
- The atlas: Peru’s growing area on the map.