Poor Farmer

Excerpts from ICO Monthly Coffee Market Report October 2012 Coffee prices underwent further declines in October, as both Arabicas and Robustas lost value during the month. Over the last six months, the ICO composite indicator price has mostly maintained a range of around 140 – 160 US cents/lb, averaging 147.12 in October, its second ‐ lowest level in over two years. Volatility for all group indicators fell slightly compared to the previous month. Crop year 2012/13 has now started in all exporting countries, and on the basis of the information currently available, total production is estimated at around 147 million bags, compared to 134.5 million bags in 2011/12. The majority of this increase can be attributed to the on ‐ year in the biennial cycle of Arabica production in Brazil. Production in Vietnam during crop year 2011/12 has been revised upwards to just over 24 million bags, 23.6% higher than in 2010/11. Strong production was also recorded in Honduras and Peru, among...

By Leslie Josephs The Wall Street Journal November 4, 2012 NEW YORK—Arabica-coffee prices are at nearly their lowest point since June, and market conditions point to still lower prices ahead. Arabica coffee for delivery in December ended at $1.5345 a pound on ICE Futures U.S. on Thursday, the lowest settlement since June 20. Prices recovered slightly on Friday, rising 1.3 cents, or 0.8%, to $1.5470 a pound, but were still down 1.9% for the week. Arabica-coffee futures have been well below 2011's levels, when prices peaked above $3 a pound. To try to counter the drop, Brazilian coffee growers have been storing rather than selling their arabica beans. But Colombia and Central American growers kicked off their harvests last month, and as the influx of supply pushes prices lower, Brazilian growers may try to sell before the prices fall too far. "There's a lot of coffee in the hands of Brazilian producers," said Marcio Bernardo, an analyst a...

PTI via The Hindu Business Line November 4, 2012 NEW DELHI, NOV 4:  Global coffee exports rose by 3 per cent to 107.8 million bags in the last coffee year, which ended in September, on the back of increased shipments from Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico among others, ICO said. Worldwide shipments of the brew stood at 104.7 million bags (of 60 kg each) in 2010-11 crop year (October-September). Exports in the 2011-12 coffee year registered an upward trend in Vietnam, Indonesia, Mexico, Cote D’ Ivorie, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, etc, International Coffee Organisation (ICO) data said. However, the shipments of the brew declined in major exporting countries of Brazil, Columbia, Ethiopia and India, it added. In coffee year 2011-12, exports of Arabica totalled 66 million bags compared to 67.8 million bags last year, whereas robusta exports amounted to 41.8 million bags compared to 36.9 million bags in 2010-11. World coffee exports rose by 3 per cen...

AP News via Businessweek November 01, 2012 WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) — Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has struck a deal with Costco to manufacture store-brand packs of coffee for the retailer. Green Mountain developed two blends for Costco's Kirkland Signature lines, a lighter breakfast blend and a darker roast. Costco will begin selling the single-serve coffee pods, for use in Green Mountain's Keurig single-cup brewing system, in mid-December. Green Mountain pioneered the single-serve coffee in the U.S. It has partnered with a number of companies, such as Tully's Coffee, Newman's Own and Caribou Coffee. The company has struggled, however, as its patents expire and competitors release their own single-serve coffee makers. That includes Starbucks. Shares of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. had fallen 65 percent since its high this year of $69.75 in February. Shares of Green Mountain jumped $2.10, nearly 9 percent, to $26.28, after it announ...

By Neena Rai The Wall Street Journal Blog October 31, 2012 Coffee fans are tightening their purse strings and consuming the beverage at home rather than paying marked-up coffee shop prices as the economic crisis continues to bite. In response, leading international coffee roasters such as Kraft, Nestlé   and   Starbucks are setting their sights on a new model: the premium home market. Roasters are looking for new pockets of consumption and they believe they have found it in the fast-growing market for small machines that can produce a café-quality brew from single-serve pods of high-grade espresso grounds, for a fraction of the cost. The coffee pod sector is forecast to see sales grow 47% in the U.S. and 38% in Western Europe over the next four years, according to U.K. based research firm Euromonitor. David Rogers, the home sales and marketing director for Lavazza Coffee U.K. reckons that in Britain alone, the sale of coffee capsules will soar by a minim...

Yemen's best known crop is the narcotic leaf qat, but it was once coffee. A businessman seeks to revive the country's past reputation as a leading coffee producer.  By Nafeesa Sayeed The Christian Science Monitor October 27, 2012 ZAHRA, YEMEN - Yemen's best-known crop may be qat, the omnipresent narcotic leaf chewed daily by many Yemenis, but this impoverished country was once one of the world's great coffee producers. Now one enterprising businessman is seeking to reclaim that historical status. Indian businessman Shabbir Ezzi, a member of a Shiite sect with roots in Yemen, hopes to persuade farmers to give up growing qat –  "a Class-A drug," according to him – and give coffee a try instead. "The whole country is completely gripped by [this] drug habit," he says. A half-dozen years ago, Mr. Ezzi relocated to Yemen and Al-Ezzi Industries, his family company, invested $1 million in an enterprise buying coffee from producers...

By William Davison Bloomberg October 26, 2012 Ethiopian exports dropped 7 percent to $699.1 million in the first quarter as shipments of coffee and oil seeds fell, the Trade Ministry said. Foreign sales of coffee in the continent’s largest producer of the beans earned $199.3 million in the four months through Oct. 10, compared with $201.9 million in the same period a year earlier, the Addis Ababa-based ministry said in an e-mailed statement on Oct. 24. Ethiopia’s calendar has 13 months, one of which runs from Sept. 6 to Sept. 10. The second-most valuable export in the quarter was gold, which increased 2 percent to $132.7 million, the ministry said. The stimulant qhat raised $69.5 million in foreign exchange, an increase of 1 percent, it said. Ethiopia posted a trade deficit of $7.5 billion in the fiscal year ended July 7 as a result of slowing growth in exports and increased import costs, according to   Access Capital , an Addis Ababa-based research group. E...