Poor Farmer

Like oil refineries which covert petroleum into fuel and other ingredients for use in consumer products, biorefineries transform corn, sugar cane, and other plant-based material into bio-based fuels and other products. AFP RELAXNEWS via NY Daily News August 27, 2012 Coffee giant Starbucks in Hong Kong is testing out an innovative recycling process that turns old, stale baked goods and coffee grinds into bio-plastics and laundry detergent in an attempt to lessen its environmental footprint. The project, led by scientists at the City University of Hong Kong, is being tested at a new food ‘biorefinery,' that diverts food waste and transforms it into viable, usable products. The project was presented at a meeting of the world's largest scientific society, the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia this week. Like oil refineries which covert petroleum into fuel and other ingredients for use in consumer produc...

By Eric Volkman  The Montley Fool August 25, 2012 Starbucks   ( Nasdaq:   SBUX ) is a company heavily dependent on one commodity: raw arabica coffee. It's nice, then, that prices for those beans have generally been dropping in recent months. And based on futures contract data, that trend looks as if the trend will continue. So that seems a clear win for the company and other arabica buyers. But not all business advantages can be exploited equally, and Starbucks might not be the company best positioned to capture the opportunity. Drier and cheaper The prolonged dry weather badly affecting crops in the U.S. has been beneficial for certain commodities abroad, most notably coffee. An unusually heavy bout of wet weather affecting output in java-growing countries several years ago is largely over, bringing production back to former levels. Forecasts indicate that production in Colombia, for example, could reach a half-decade high of 9 million bags (appr...

Ethiopian Leader Meles Dies at 57 Voice of America August 21st, 2012 Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has died at the age of 57 after months of speculation about his health. State television announced his death Tuesday, saying he died from a sudden infection late Monday while at a hospital abroad. Mr. Meles had been suffering from an undisclosed illness and had not been seen in public for more than a month. State media said Deputy Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn will serve as acting prime minister. Prime Minister Meles ruled his country for more than 20 years, after the rebel alliance he led, the EPRDF (Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front), seized power in 1991. Mr. Meles earned praise abroad for improvements in the economy, education and health care. But human rights groups sharply criticized him for various abuses, including restrictions on independent media. Under Mr. Meles, Ethiopia fought a border war with Eritrea and...

Reuters August 18, 2012 Aug 17 (Reuters) - Brazil's government and private banks look set to boost lending to coffee producers, the national coffee producers' association, CNC, said on Friday, to tide them over when they choose to defer sales in the hope of receiving a higher asking price later. The CNC said in an e-mailed bulletin that the government would vote at the end of August about adding 600 million reais ($297.10 million) to its Funcafe coffee loan program that would take its total funds this season to 1.8 billion reais. The association said private lenders had also expressed an interest in allocating more loans to coffee producers and estimated an additional 1.2 billion reais could be made available. If disbursed as the CNC hopes, the additional public and private funds would be enough to stock an additional four million bags of coffee or nearly a tenth of this year's harvest, should producers choose to use these credit lines. Brazil is t...

By Alexandra Wexler The Wall Street Journal August 17, 2012 NEW YORK—Arabica coffee futures sank 3.6% this past week, at one point settling at a nearly eight-week low as traders anticipated a glut of the beans from Brazil. Unseasonable rains in the top coffee-producing country earlier in the season prevented trucks and workers from getting into the fields, straining supplies and pushing arabica futures prices up 20% from mid-June to mid-July. Arabica, prized for its mild flavor, is often used in gourmet coffee blends. But after a recent bout of dry weather, the South American nation's harvest is nearing conclusion, knocking the wind out of the futures market. Brazil's 2012-13 coffee harvest was 80% complete as of Aug. 9, Brazilian agricultural consultancy Safras & Mercado said. "The thing that was holding the market up was weather, which really isn't there anymore," said Hector Galvan, senior analyst at R.J. O'Brien in Chicago. ...

July 2012 Monthly Coffee Report International Coffee Organization (ICO) Coffee prices rebounded in July 2012, with the ICO composite indicator increasing by 9.5% compared to June, following nine consecutive months of price falls. The strongest growth was seen in Arabicas, fuelled by concerns over the Brazilian crop after unseasonably heavy rains at the beginning of the month. Nevertheless, Arabica prices remain at relatively low levels compared to the last 12 months. Robustas saw more modest growth, increasing by 1.3% to reach their highest level since August 2011. In terms of market fundamentals, world production in 2011/12 is estimated at 131.4 million bags, falling slightly from 134.4 million bags in 2010/11. World consumption, on the other hand, is estimated to have increased to 137.9 million bags in calendar year 2011. The supply/demand balance therefore remains relatively tight. World exports in June 2012 reached 9.6 million bags, 5.1% higher than the same month i...

Tanzania Daily News August 14, 2012 Mosh — TANZANIA Coffee Industry Development Strategy (2011 - 2021) has laid out proposed implementation framework which is intended to achieve several goals including improvement of the crop. The Director General of Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB), Eng Adolph Kumburu, said to live up to the strategy, there must be a close collaboration among all stakeholders in the coffee sector. Eng Kumburu stated that coffee growers and their organisations stand central to the coffee development strategy as farmers would need to be engaged fully. "They will only do so if they are confident that they will receive a fair share of revenues for their coffee through improved efficiency of the value chain and that any investment in improved production and quality will materialise in better incomes,"he said. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives, can ensure that the coffee industry strategy aims are aligned with the Nation...