What is a fanega in coffee measurement?

A fanega is a traditional Latin American volume measurement equivalent to 250 kilograms of fresh coffee cherry, used during and after harvest to measure volumes at the farm or wet mill intake point. It's most common in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras.

In Costa Rica, the cajuela (approximately 20 litres of cherry) is a sub-unit of the fanega - roughly 20 cajuelas to one fanega. The exact equivalent varies by region, so confirming local definitions when reviewing harvest data from a specific origin is worth doing.

For buyers, the fanega is relevant when interpreting farm-level productivity data or producer payment records. A farm yielding 40 fanegas per hectare is producing approximately 10,000 kilograms of fresh cherry per hectare - a figure that gives useful context for understanding farm scale and the economics of processing.