Coffee prices stable despite fluctuations for growers

David Howells

14/12/2011 11:43:23

Coffee prices look set to remain steady, despite unease amongst certain growers, forex-rateit.com reports.

Whilst bad weather in Colombia has raised the number of pests and diseases negatively affecting coffee crops, other areas have thrived - such as Indonesia - balancing the supply on a world scale.

Recent figures show that output in Colombia has been cut by 700,000 tonnes to 8.5 million bags in 2011, after suffering with higher than average rainfall during the blossoming, ripening and harvesting periods. Meanwhile, however, Indonesia’s output soared, growing by 2 million bags to a total of 8.75 million during 2011.

This balance should mean that despite great fluctuations, the overall output remains reasonably steady and in line with demand, meaning that consumers shouldn’t see too much of a price rise on the beans for their espresso coffee machines.

The figures also show that consumption figures are up, where usage rose by 1.8 per cent each year between 1990 - 2001, before growing by 2.5 per cent year-on-year between 2001 - 2011.

An International Coffee Organisation (ICO) spokesperson told agrimoney.com: “It should be noted that market fundamentals continue to favour firm prices. Vibrant world consumption means that the supply-demand balance will continue to be tight and prices will remain firm.”