Poor Farmer

Reuters NAIROBI, Thursday March 16, 2007 Kenya’s coffee output in 2006 rose by six per cent to 50,528 tonnes, compared with the previous year. This was due to better prices and favourable weather, a monthly economic review by the central bank said today. The production has suffered due to poor earnings and mismanagement in the small holder sector. “The upturn in the coffee output reflected improved crop husbandry and favourable weather,” the Central Bank of Kenya bulletin said, adding the country produced 47,650 tonnes in 2005. “The modest growth was also boosted by favourable trends in prices which rose from $2,329 per tonne in 2005 to $2,649 per tonne in 2006,” it said. Kenya’s coffee sector, whose output peaked at 130,000 tonnes in the 1987/88 crop year, has been recovering in the past four years after reforms to reverse nearly two decades of decline. Already highly indebted due to poor earnings and high production costs, many smallholder farmers have had little access to affordable...

NUTRA By staff reporter March 14, 2007 Coffee prices recorded a further downward correction in February but were still at higher levels than the average for 2006, according to the ICO. The ICO (International Coffee Organisation) composite indicator price fluctuated between a range of 101.99 -106.17 US cents/lb during the month compared to 103.92 - 109.09 US cents/lb in January. (Read the Coffee Market Report February 2007 under Coffee Links at the side bar of this page) "The 'El Nino' phenomenon, which had decreased in intensity in December 2006, became slightly stronger in January 2007 before slackening again in February," said the organisation. "It is still too early, however, to assess its impact on the coffee economy. In relation to the Brazilian situation, information received from EMBRAPA indicates that coffee producers are currently concerned about the unseasonable flowering of coffee trees." This phenomenon has occurred since December 2006 in som...

The same event is attracting other stakeholders' attention. Several people are expected to flock outside the meeting hall - uninvited, according to organizers of this call. ---------------- Starbucks Announces Upcoming Events SEATTLE; March 14, 2007 Annual Meeting of Shareholders - March 21, 2007 Starbucks Coffee Company (NASDAQ: SBUX) will host its 2007 Annual Meeting of Shareholders on the morning of Wednesday, March 21, 2007 in Seattle, Washington at the Marion Oliver McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time and will include presentations by Howard Schultz, chairman; Jim Donald, president and ceo; and Martin Coles, president, Starbucks Coffee International, as well as voting on corporate matters. Attendees must present an admission ticket for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders. A live webcast of the meeting may be accessed via the following address: http://investor.starbucks.com . An archive of the webcast will be availab...

Business Report March 15, 2007 From Reuters Addis Ababa - Ethiopian coffee farmers and exporters yesterday accused Starbucks of using delaying tactics in the country's attempts to trademark its best beans. Ethiopia, which prides itself as the birthplace of coffee, was trying to win trademarks for its Sidamo and Harar coffees in the US and said the coffee shop giant was stonewalling its bid. "When Starbucks announced that it will not block Ethiopia's initiative and also increase volume of coffee it purchases, we all welcomed it, believing that it would … open the door for negotiations with the company," said Hailu Gebre Hiwot, chairman of the Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Association. "But we have yet to see any effort made by Starbucks to come to the table and discuss technical issues on the royalty free licensing agreement Ethiopia is asking it to sign." However, President Girma Woldegiorgis said Ethiopia was confident that it would win the trademarks. No Star...