Wolthers Douque Cuts Brazil Coffee-Crop Forecast to 47.7m Bags

Bloomberg - Marvin G. Perez

The forecast for 2014 production

compares with a previous est. of 53m bags, Christian Wolthers,

president of the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based coffee importer,

said today in an e-mailed report.

  * Drought has reduced bean size, and growers cut use of

    fertilizers

  * For 2015 harvest, company sees output at 40m-42m bags

  * Lower branch growth, fewer fruits and too much pruning late

    this season will lower crop potential next year as farmers

    collect the smaller of two harvests in a biennial cycle

  * Stockpiles from last year’s harvest, estimated at 9m bags as

    of Jan., have been sold during the 2014 rally

  * NOTE: Brazil is the world’s largest producer and exporter

  * NOTE: Wolthers has been trading coffee for more than 3

    decades

  * NOTE: Prices for arabica coffee in New York rebounded 65%

    this yr after a 23% slump in 2013

  * NOTE: A Bag weighs 60 kgs, or 132 lbs