Mexico coffee, sugar seen unhurt by Hurricane Dean
22 Aug 2007 19:49:17 GMT Source: Reuters
MEXICO CITY, Aug 22 (Reuters) - Mexican authorities did not expect Hurricane Dean to cause substantial damage or hurt production of coffee and sugar crops in the state of Veracruz, a spokesman for the Agriculture Ministry said on Wednesday. Dean weakened to a Category 1 storm after making landfall in Veracruz state, the top producer of sugar cane and No. 2 in coffee output after the southern state of Chiapas. "Right now there is wind and rain, but we do not think that it will hurt (the crops)," said a spokesman for the ministry who asked to remain anonymous. When it smashed into Veracruz, Dean, at one stage a fierce Category 5 hurricane, knocked down trees and flooded roads close to the city of Poza Rica. Sugar cane might have been partially flattened by the storm but should return to an upright position, the ministry spokesman said, while coffee crops were likely to be unhurt because beans are green on trees and firmly attached. "When the winds strike, it can make cane a little flat, but it does not break it, and, when the winds die down, the cane returns to its normal upright position," he said. Coffee beans still have at least another couple of months to mature, the spokesman said. Hurricane Dean was expected to continue to lose strengthen over land in Mexico and dissipate in mountainous regions.
