By Isis Almeida
January 3, 2012
Coffee
prices will remain supported this year due to climate change and market
fundamentals, according to Santos, Brazil-based broker Escritorio Carvalhaes.
The
price of arabica beans rose to a 14-year high of $3.089 a pound in New
York on May 3 as heavy rainfall caused by the La Nina weather conditions
cut output in Colombia, the world’s second-largest producer of the
variety. Coffee slipped 5.7 percent in New York last year and closed 42 percent
above the 5- year average, according to data on Bloomberg.
“Climate
changes and market fundamentals will maintain prices in 2012, but we will
continue to be tied to the developments of the euro-zone crisis and its
consequences to the global economy,” the broker said in a report e-mailed yesterday.
Arabica
coffee supplies will match demand in the 2011-12 season started in October
after at least three years of deficits, data from Macquarie Group Ltd. show.
Arabica beans are grown mainly in Latin America and favored for
specialty drinks such as those made by Starbucks Corp.
Coffee
growers in Brazil, the world’s largest producer, are investing in
improving yields and bean quality, according to the Carvalhaes report, with “no
significant increases” in planted area.
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To contact the reporter on this story: Isis Almeida in
London at Ialmeida3@bloomberg.net