Poor Farmer

By David Usborne in New York The Independent March 21, 2008 Best we know there is no federal bail-out planned for Starbucks nor is one of its competitors, say Dunkin' Donuts, poised to buy it for a rock-bottom price. Things are not that fragile at the house of the double-shot soy-milk frozen macchiato. But, by its own admission, they are no longer especially buoyant either. If the failure of one very large bank last weekend brought the woes of Wall Street into focus then the new-found struggles of America's most ubiquitous coffee purveyor may similarly be a symbol of the more general economic malaise infecting Main Street. The foam on its lattes is suddenly going sour. It is a uncharacteristically contrite Starbucks that is now acknowledging that its model for retailing coffee beverages at not-so-modest prices is suddenly under assault and that salvation resides in reconnecting with its coffee-roasting roots and, hopefully, its customers. The pain is being felt most acutely in...

Announcing the First Bird Friendly Coffee from Africa! By Menkeli Kanaa March 17, 2008 Ethiopia – Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) has announced that Anfilo Specialty Coffee Enterprises (ASCE) has been certified bird friendly - the first in Africa to obtain this certification. SMBC’s first bird friendly certified coffee from Africa comes from two woredas (sub sections), of western Wellega, surrounding the Gerjeda Forest Reserve. The areas include some 600 hectares of undisturbed wild coffees that are self- sown, and grow under the full coverage of natural forests. The coffee is grown at an altitude of 1800 to 2400 meters above sea level (5905 – 7874ft). Those two weredas, Anfilo and Gidami, are among other important coffee producing weredas that also surround this forest reserve. The growing trend in today’s coffee market is for certification programs, which assure consumers that their purchases are grown under environmentally and socially responsible conditions Bird friendly c...

Coffee cherries sit in a basket ready for sale in Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia, on Dec. 8, 2007. Photographer: Michael Tsegaye/Bloomberg News By Aya Takada Bloomberg March 13, 2008 Global coffee supply will be curbed by the dollar's decline against the currencies of producing countries and by increasing costs as consumption gains, the International Coffee Organization said. Rising coffee prices are failing to boost planting because the weakening dollar erodes the value of sales in local-currency terms and record crude oil boosts fertilizer and transport costs, said Nestor Osorio, executive director of the London-based group. Consumption increases 1.7 percent to 2 percent a year, he said. Supply constraints may raise prices of coffee, which gained to a 10-year high in New York last month, adding to costs for roasters including Starbucks Corp. , the world's largest chain of coffee shops, and Doutor Nichires Holdings Co. , the biggest in Japan. An index tracking the dollar against six m...

This post is intended to serve as a reference for the reasons behind the current price hike The Times of India March 13, 2008 BANGALORE: Is the cuppa of cheer heading towards a slide after having enjoyed price increase for a couple of years? The new pricing trouble stems from two factors: The exit of several large hedge funds from international coffee futures contracts and the fear of a glut due to a bumper coffee crop in Brazil. The Brazilian crop is expected to rise by about 10 million bags — to about 53 million bags (of 50 kilo each) — and is expected to hit the market in September-December. With derivatives, equities and share markets slumping, global hedge funds have increasingly found commodities like gold, coffee and rubber as good fund-parking spaces. They invest heavily into commodities futures contracts and exit when prices peak. That’s what happened in the first week of March and that in turn started sending the coffee prices down. According to United Planters’ Association o...

Allan Odhiambo And Abyssinia Lati Business Daily (via AllAfrica ) March 12, 2008 Consumers should be prepared to dig deeper into their pockets as coffee companies increased prices by up to 30 per cent to cushion themselves from record prices of unroasted beans. Taking cue from other international companies such as the giant Kraft Foods and Procter and Gamble that have raised prices on jars of instant coffee and packets of ground coffee, leading local companies said the increases were inevitable if they were to continue on the profitability curve. "The bulk of the industry has had to make price adjustments to try and improve on profitability that is threatened by the record high global prices," Erick Omondi, the general manager of Dormans Coffee Limited told Business Daily in an interview. A price list Dormans uses with effect from February 26, 2008 its upmarket blend coffees go for a price 30 per cent higher than the previous ones while the prices of average value coffees ha...

By Fred Ojambo Bloomberg March 11, 2008 Kenya plans to start branding its coffee to popularize the country's beans and boost earnings from the crop, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange said. Coffee producers, traders and regulators in the East African country will meet next week to draft branding standards, Daniel Mbithi , chief executive officer of the exchange, said today in an interview from the capital, Nairobi. While a number of companies currently certify Kenya's coffee, each of them has their own standards, he said. ``We want to follow the example of Ethiopia,'' said Mbithi. ``By setting standards we shall be able to improve incomes from the crop.'' Ethiopia , where the arabica coffee variety originated, last year signed a licensing agreement with Starbucks Corp. under which the world's largest chain of coffee shops will increase marketing and promotion for the beans. Output in Kenya may fall to 41,861 bags in the 12 months to Sept. 30, from 53,000 last seaso...

"We have seen a growing trend in the industry for geographic indicators." - Scott McMartin, Starbucks' green coffee sustainability director "Most of the geographical indicators exist in the developing countries. …Increasingly, consumers are much more aware. …In most cases, geographical indicators integrate a series of standards, they allow for rural development." - Daniele Giovannucci, team leader for the United Nations International Trade Center By Marcy Nicholson Reuters (via Guardian ) March 7, 2008 AVENTURA, Fla.(Reuters) - Starbucks Corp, the world's largest coffee chain, is set to sell an exclusive coffee from Rwanda on the international market for the first time, a spokesman said, as consumer demand for origin-specific flavors grows. The bean, which carries a hint of cocoa, is called Rwanda Blue Bourbon. Grown at an altitude of 1,700 to 2,000 meters (5,000 to 6,000 feet) in Cyangugu Province, it will be sold as whole beans in Europe and Asia by early ...

By Jason McLure Bloomberg March 7, 2008 Ethiopian premium coffee grades rose 8.9 percent to 16 percent in the 30 days through Feb. 7, as exports more than doubled, the Agriculture Ministry said. The price for Harar Grade Five rose 16 percent to $4,231.38 a metric ton during the period, which corresponds with the fifth month of the Ethiopian calendar. Yirgacheffe Grade 2 climbed 15 percent to $4,632.08 a ton and Sidamo Grade 2 increased 8.9 percent to $3,536.64 a ton, the ministry said in an e-mailed statement from the capital, Addis Ababa, today. Total coffee exports from Africa's largest producer of the beans more than doubled during the month to 12,722 tons, the ministry said. The value of exports was $40.3 million, from $17 million a month earlier, the ministry said. Saudi Arabia, Germany, and the U.S. were the three largest buyers of Ethiopian coffee during December, accounting for more than half of the country's sales during the month, it said. Coffee is Ethiopia's l...

"Consumption has been growing on a fairly steady basis and production has struggled to keep pace with it, so you need the higher prices to jump-start production again. You need to ration supplies. You need to either get prices high enough to have producers expand production or prices need to rise enough to flow demand. More than likely, you're going to see the producer response first." - Judy Ganes-Chase of J Ganes Consulting in New York By Marcy Nicholson Reuters March 6, 2008 AVENTURA, Fla. (Reuters) - Coffee will be served and, thanks to the recent robust rally, will taste richer this time around at the National Coffee Association's conference in this coastal community. The people who buy, sell, roast and analyze the beans that are brewed into one of the world's favorite drinks will talk about rising prices, electronic trading, and drinking trends noted by big companies like Starbucks (SBUX.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) and Sara Lee Corp (SLE.N: Quote , Profi...

Ethiopia Wins U.S. Trademark Rights for Coffee Brand Reuters March 5, 2008 ADDIS ABABA, (Reuters) - Ethiopia has won trademark rights for its specialty Sidamo coffee in the United States, the country's intellectual property office said on Wednesday. Africa's largest coffee producer had a protracted tussle with Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) last year over the use of the name in the United States. "Ethiopia was forced to wait for years to secure the certificate...but now the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has confirmed that Ethiopia is the sole owner of the Sidamo coffee trademark," the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office (EIPO) said in a statement. Ethiopia has already secured trademark rights for Yirgacheffee coffee in the United States. Starbucks and Addis Ababa agreed to end their dispute in November 2007. Ethiopia has filed an application for trademark rights for its Harar coffee, the statement said. It said Ethiopia had signed agreement...

"African coffee production and quality had been affected by liberalization of the sector which has allowed unscrupulous individuals to join the coffee marketing without conforming to the best practices. ... it is important to strengthen the coffee sector and promote its sustainable expansion in a market based environment for the betterment of all the participants in the sector." - ICO official, Jose Sette East Africa: Poor Quality Cheapens Region's Coffee Trade Stephen NuwagiraKampala East African Business Week (via AllAfrica ) March 3, 2008 Africa's coffee trade is headed for worse times unless issues of poor quality and low production are urgently addressed, coffee experts and processors attending the 5th Africa fine coffee association conference and exhibition in Kampala were told recently. The decline of coffee quality in the region which was blamed on the poor practices right from the farm through to the processing plant has greatly affected the region's co...

Vietnam Agency via VNECONOMY : March 4, 2008 Viet Nam’s coffee exports to Morocco have increased in recent years, according to the Viet Nam Coffee Association (VCA). In 2007, Viet Nam exported 10,494 tonnes of coffee to Morocco for 18.8 million USD. This represents roughly 30 percent of the country’s total imported coffee. Coffee is currently a leading Vietnamese export to Morocco , accounting for 41 percent of the country’s total export value to the market. The VCA said Viet Nam’s coffee exports to Morocco can reach 13,000 to 14,000 tonnes annually if trade promotions are well implemented. Morocco is considered among the world’s leading importers of unprocessed coffee, bringing in roughly 28,000 tonnes annually.

By Josh Fineman Bloomberg March 3, 2008 Starbucks Corp. Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz named Cliff Burrows to run the coffee chain's U.S. operations, replacing Launi Skinner in a management overhaul aimed at reversing declining customer visits. Burrows, president of Starbucks' Europe, Middle East and Africa stores, will take over the U.S. position on March 12. Skinner stepped down after six months on the job to spend more time with her family, Starbucks said in a statement today. Schultz, who built the local Seattle coffee chain into a company with almost 16,000 cafes, has been appointing new executives since his return as CEO last month after a seven-year hiatus. The chain reported its first quarterly drop in U.S. customer visits last year, and Schultz said in January that he would slow the pace of store growth and close 100 locations. Skinner, 43, became head of the U.S. division in September after serving as leader of store development since 2004. She joined Starbuck...