Arabica Futures Climb to $1.1750/Pound, Highest Since Oct. 16

  NEW YORK  -  Arabica-coffee futures climbed to a near 10-week high on Monday as investors covered

bets that prices would continue to fall, booking profits ahead of the end of the year.

  "We don't see anything fundamental or any other news" that would push prices up, said Andre

Santos, a trader at Ally Brazilian Coffee Merchants in Plantation, Fla.

  Futures jumped as the market passed through the key technical and psychological level of 17 cents

a pound, triggering preplaced orders to cover short positions.

  Arabica coffee for March delivery on the ICE Futures U.S. exchange was recently 1.6% higher at

$1.1710 a pound, down from $1.1750 a pound, the highest intraday level since Oct. 16.

Arabica Prices Drop as Supplies From Latin America Flood Markets

B Thipperudrappa - CHIKMAGALUR

23rd December 2013

Coffee growers across the state who are in a crisis following the vagaries of weather and the rise in cost of cultivation have been hit again by a steep drop in Arabica coffee prices.

The price drop is said to be the worst in the last seven years as coffee from Brazil, Columbia and central America has been flooding the markets.

A 50-kg bag of Arabica was priced at `11,000 in 2011, while this year it has fallen to `6,100, a drop of 48 per cent. Robusta price has dropped to `2,500 for a 50-kg bag this year while in 2011 it was `3,800.

Former Karnataka Coffee Growers Federation president Attikatte Jagannath told Express that 50 to 60 per cent of the crop has been destroyed in some parts of Kodagu and Chikmagalur due to copious rain this year.

The Coffee Board’s final estimate of 3,18,000 metric tonnes of output for 2012-13 is likely to fall sharply because of disease, unseasonal rains, high cost of inputs and labour shortage.

Outgoing Karnataka Growers Federation president Pradeep said the problems of growers are compounded by the depreciation of the rupee against the US dollar following increased cost of imported equipment and petroleum.

Though there is a steep fall in the prices of Arabica parchment and Robusta, coffee powder has remained constant at `240 per kg.

There is a need for futures trading as advance selling will save growers with small holdings below 10 hectares from price uncertainty.

If the trend continues, the future of coffee could turn bleak, said Bhoje Gowda, a grower from Aldur.

The Union government and the Coffee Board should protect the growers, he said. Some experts feel that to help coffee growers, the consumption of the beverage should be popularised across North India on the lines of Coffee Day cafes.

Vietnam December Coffee Exports Likely Up 50% on Month

Nguyen Pham Muoi

  HANOI -  Vietnam's December coffee exports likely rose 50% in volume and 58% in value compared with

November, the government's General Statistics Office said Monday.

  The exports totaled 120,000 metric tons, or 2 million 60-kilogram bags, valued at $226 million,

the GSO said.

In November, the country exported 80,000 tons of coffee bean valued at $143 million.

  In the crop year that began Oct. 1, Vietnam has so far exported 265,000 tons, down from 387,000

tons a year earlier. The value of the exports totaled $503 million, down 38.7% from $820 million.

  The office usually issues coffee figures before the end of the reporting period based on

estimates.