Coffee futures prices forecast november 2012

Coffee futures prices forecast november 2012 : Coffee is a commodity I consume every day but only trade every now and again. Lately, though, coffee prices have moved lower by 16% since the beginning of October and as seen on the chart below, have been sideways for the past six months. Though past performance is not indicative of future results the movement suggests selling near $1.85 and buying near $1.60 has worked over this time frame.

Near-Term Pricing
I expect to see prices appreciate in the coming weeks and have advised clients to start gaining bullish exposure in March contracts. A base appears to be forming in recent sessions and prices are extremely oversold. Not to mention in the roll volume has started to pick up in the March contract. My target is a return to the 100-day MA around the $1.70 level in March futures. In March options traders have just under three-month's time.

Arabica Coffee, Cocoa futures prices forecast 2012-2013

Coffee prices today - Arabica Coffee, Cocoa futures prices forecast 2012-2013 : Credit Suisse Group AG’s private banking unit raised its price forecasts for arabica coffee traded in New York, saying prices have found a bottom.

Arabica coffee futures will be at $1.80 a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in three and 12 months, the bank said in a report e-mailed today. That compares with a previous forecast of $1.50 a pound. The beans climbed 1.3 percent so far this month on speculation rains in Brazil would reduce crop quality.

“We think coffee prices have found a bottom after a long correction and expect sideways trading going forward,” Tobias Merath, head of commodity research at the bank, wrote in the report. “Prices are now very close to fair value.”

The coffee market remains in a surplus and inventories are rising, Merath said, without giving an estimate. Valuation, technical indicators and fundamentals of coffee have recently improved, according to the bank.

Cocoa prices are likely to keep trading between $2,000 and $2,500 a metric ton in New York for “quite some time,” the bank said. It forecasts prices at $2,250 a ton in three months and $2,300 a ton in 12 months, according to the report. Prices have climbed 1.9 percent this month to $2,335 a ton.

“Prices are testing the upper end of this range again, but we see little impetus for a decisive break higher,” Merath said. “The cocoa market is currently rated neutral on all accounts.”

Ethiopian coffee exports outlook 2012-2013

Coffee prices today - Ethiopian coffee exports outlook 2012-2013 : Ethiopian exports from Ethiopia in the just ended financial year are 100,000 tones short of the projected exports according to an unofficial source.

The exports are below projection and lower than what the country exported last year although exports did show signs of increasing in the final two months of the concluded fiscal year noted experts.

The demand for coffee was reduced by the international economic meltdown that has affected major export destinations and the bumper harvest acquired by the world’s largest producer of coffee, Brazil.

These factors combined to reduce prices for coffee on the international market to 1.50 US dollars a kilo down from 1.85 US dollars a kilo.

Brazil is expected to harvest surplus of six to eight million 60 kilogram bags of coffee estimated to 360 thousand to 480 thousand tons this years said reports.

Ethiopian exporters took advantage of contracts entered in with buyers when prices were higher to buy the coffee at the reduced prices and to export in bulk in the last two months of the year managing to raise exports marginally.

Even so the volume of coffee exported in the budget year is 16,000 tons less than what was exported last year.

Indonesia coffee output forecast 2012-2013

coffee prices today - Indonesia coffee output forecast 2012-2013, Indonesia’s harvest : Farmers in Indonesia, the third biggest robusta grower, have harvested 45 percent, or about 150,000 tons, of the South Sumatra robusta crop from the 2012-13 season, South Sumatra is Indonesia’s main growing area.

Dry weather there in the past three weeks has favored drying of the cherries that contain the beans, weather pattern cut Indonesian output to 8.3 million bags in 2011-12, USDA data showed.

coffee, cocoa prices outlook july 23-27 2012

Coffee prices today - coffee, cocoa prices outlook july 23-27 2012 : India's monsoon rains have revived and are expected to remain active at least until the end of this month, weather officials said on Friday, easing risks of a drought for now and helping planting to pick up momentum. Cocoa futures were little changed after Asia's grindings rose and North America's grind fell sharply in its biggest drop in more than three years. ICE September cocoa futures inched down $1 to settle at $2,229 a tonne, while London September cocoa closed up 11 pounds, or 0.7 percent, at 1,543 pounds per tonne.

"The market is demonstrating that the grinds were not much of a surprise," said a European trader. Cocoa grindings in Asia rose 5.7 percent to 150,726 tonnes in the second quarter of 2012 from the same period last year, while North American cocoa grindings in the second quarter of 2012.

The data follows Europe's sharpest quarterly fall in grindings for at least 12 years, dropping 17.8 percent from the same period last year. Arabica futures on ICE were slightly lower, digesting Thursday's gains after closing above key technical levels, with September fell 2.00 cents, or 1.1 percent, to close at $1.8695 per lb. Price differentials for Brazilian beans eased in Europe's cash coffee market on sluggish demand as roasters were reluctant to step in because of high prices, traders said. Robusta coffee futures on Liffe ended down with September falling by $5 to $2,187 a tonne.

Brazil coffee harvest 2012-2013

Brazil coffee harvest 2012-2013 : Coffee growers in Brazil, the world’s largest producer of the bean, have harvested 40 percent of the current season’s crop after delays caused by rain, the Brazilian Coffee Council said

The rain has compromised quality of this season’s crop and also caused early flowering for the 2012-2013 season,

The early flowering may hurt next seaso

coffee, cocoa futures prices closed april 5 2012

coffee, cocoa futures prices closed april 5 2012 : Arabica coffee futures on ICE closed lower Thursday in the face of a firmer dollar while the market consolidated after the previous session's volatile moves.

U.S. cocoa futures settled up a shade in heavy volume, consolidating after hitting a three-month low on Wednesday, while raw sugar also meandered upward.

2:05 PM     SETTLE   NET    PCT     LOW    HIGH CURRENT
                  CHNG   CHNG                     VOLCocoa MAY     2085     2    0.1%   2,068  2,132  19,992
Cocoa JUL     2108    -1   -0.1%   2,094  2,150  14,933
Coffee MAY     183 -1.75   -1.0%  180.95 185.00  14,350
Coffee JUL   185.5 -1.85   -1.0%  183.45 187.60   9,042

 TOTAL MARKET              VOLUME                          
              CURRENT   30D AVG  250D AVG
ICE COCOA       41,234    21,523    19,419 
ICE COFFEE      29,868    22,404    20,23

ARABICA COFFEE
* May arabicas fell 1.75 cent to end at $1.83 per lb, an inside day after Wednesday's volatile session.

* On the week, May closed down 0.3 percent. * Market was pressured by the firm U.S. dollar and commercial hedging - traders.

* "So many commodity funds are either long or they're out. It appears to be commercial business going on. I would say that's probably pricing in the Brazilian production." - James Cordier, senior analyst of brokerage Optionsellers.com in Florida.

* Total open interest climbed by 2,691 contracts to 160,503 contracts, the highest since August 2010 - ICE/Thomson Reuters data.

* Brazil cracked down on multinational commodities firms Wednesday with rules to block them from shifting tax liabilities to more favorable countries.

COCOA FUTURES
* May cocoa rose $2 to settle at $2,085 a tonne.

* On the week, May closed down 6 percent.

* Total volume was heavy at more than 41,200 lots, roughly double its 30-day average - preliminary Thomson Reuters data.

* May/July spreading continued to boost volume ahead of first notice day for May on April 17 - traders.

* Market climbed quietly along with the Thomson Reuters CRB index, consolidating after closing at a three-month low on Wednesday - traders.

* Open interest jumped by 4,699 lots to 181,349 lots on April 4, the highest since Nov. 8, 2011 - exchange data.

* Higher-than-usual cocoa deliveries to warehouses in Brazil over the past few weeks from local farms and imports are pushing arrivals close to last year's levels as the season draws to a close in April.

coffee prices and production forecast 2012-2013

Coffee prices today - coffee prices and production forecast 2012-2013, arabica coffee prices prediction 2012-2013, robusta coffee prices 2013 : Arabica fell 18 percent in New York this year on prospects for a record Brazilian crop as robusta rose 12 percent in London because of fewer cargoes from Vietnam. The premium dropped to 83.89 cents a pound on March 29, the lowest since July 2010. It will widen to $1.162 by the end of the year, the average of 18 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg shows.

Farmers in Vietnam have been stockpiling robusta as a hedge against consumer prices that surged 23 percent in August, according to Macquarie Group Ltd. With inflation moderating to 14 percent in March and harvests about to start in Indonesia and Brazil, they may now accelerate sales, the bank predicts. Arabica is poised to rally 10 percent in the next three months, as drought in Brazil threatens the crop and demand from emerging markets strengthens, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates.

“People have focused on the shortage of robusta supplies, and that will change as the crops in Indonesia and Brazil come in and put pressure on the Vietnamese farmers to release their record crop,” said Keith Flury, an analyst at Rabobank in London. “The market is also seriously underestimating how tight the arabica supply-and-demand balance will be.”

Arabica Rebound
Arabica traded on ICE Futures U.S. fell 20 percent in the first three months of the year, the biggest quarterly decline in more than a decade, and reached a 17-month low of $1.7445 a pound on March 22. Futures that closed at $1.862 yesterday will reach $2 in three months, Goldman’s commodity research team, led by Jeffrey Currie in London, wrote in a report March 28.

Robusta jumped 12 percent in the first quarter, the biggest gain in a year, and traded at $2,031 a metric ton (92.12 cents a pound) yesterday on NYSE Liffe. Prices will average $1,600 in the fourth quarter, 21 percent less than now, Rabobank’s Flury wrote in a report on March 27.

Arabica is the second-worst performer this year in the Standard & Poor’s Spot GSCI Index of 24 commodities, behind natural gas. The gauge advanced 8.2 percent as the MSCI All- Country World Index of equities added 12 percent. Treasuries lost 1.2 percent, a Bank of America Corp. index shows.

Starbucks Costs
Higher arabica prices may raise costs for Seattle-based Starbucks and Waterbury, Vermont-based Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (GMCR) Cheaper robusta may help Vevey, Switzerland-based Nestle, which uses the variety to make Nescafe and has about 51 percent of the global instant-coffee market, according to Euromonitor International.

Global robusta supply will exceed demand by 1.2 million bags in the year that begins in October, compared with a 1 million-bag shortage in the current season, according to Winterthur, Switzerland-based Volcafe. Each bag weighs 60 kilograms (132 pounds). Arabica output will outpace consumption by about 800,000 bags in 2012-2013, compared with a 6 million- bag deficit in the current season, the unit of ED&F Man Holdings Ltd., a London-based commodities trader, forecast in a quarterly report in February.

The anticipated gains in arabica prices may be curbed by signs that economic growth is slowing, said Walter “Bucky” Hellwig, who helps manage $17 billion of assets at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama. Prices fell 18 percent in 2008, amid the worst global recession since World War II. The premium to robusta narrowed to as little as 26.1 cents in March 2008, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Slowing Growth
The International Monetary Fund expects world growth to slow to 3.3 percent this year, from 3.8 percent in 2011, and Europe to contract 0.5 percent as it struggles to contain a debt crisis. The pace of the recovery in the U.S., the world’s biggest coffee user, has been “extremely sluggish,” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said on March 29.

“Coffee is caught in a down trend,” Hellwig said. “We’re concerned with global growth stalling. There’s growth there, but we’re not seeing demand growth exceeding supply growth.”

Hedge funds and other money managers have been betting on lower arabica prices since mid-February, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data show. They held a net-short position of 9,964 futures and options contracts in the week ended March 27. Funds increased their net-long position in robusta during the same week by 8.5 percent to 8,345 contracts, the most since NYSE Liffe started publishing the data in October.

Speculator Holdings
Wagers on robusta may be reversed once Vietnamese farmers accelerate shipments. They sold about 70 percent of the current season’s crop so far, preferring to hold on to beans, according to Volcafe. The start of harvests in Brazil and Indonesia next month and slower domestic inflation probably will spur them to reverse that trend, said Kona Haque, an analyst at Macquarie in London.

Production in Indonesia, the third-biggest robusta grower behind Vietnam and Brazil, may rise 38 percent to 11 million bags in the season starting in April, the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute estimates.

Arabica supplies may be tighter than futures markets are anticipating. While the government of Brazil, the largest grower, has forecast a record crop in the marketing year that begins in July, most of the gains will be in robusta and arabica output may actually decline, estimates Terra Forte Exportacao e Importacao de Cafe Ltda., the country’s second-largest exporter.

More Robusta

Growers of arabica, which will enter the higher-yielding half of a two-year production cycle in July, will collect 37.4 million bags, almost 11 percent less than they did in the previous peak year, Terra Forte predicts. Robusta output will climb to 16.5 million bags, from 14.3 million a year earlier, the Sao Joao da Boa Vista, Brazil-based company forecasts.

The Brazilian government may stockpile beans to help farmers, Agriculture Minister Mendes Ribeiro Filho said in an interview in London on March 29. Brazil exported 27.4 million bags of arabica and 2.7 million bags of robusta in 2011, according to its coffee exporters’ council, known as Cecafe.

Arabica inventories at ICE-monitored warehouses are 41 percent smaller than two years ago, before prices began a rally to a 14-year high in May 2011, exchange data show. Stockpiles may not be replenished soon because heavier-than-normal rainfall in Colombia, the second-biggest grower of the variety, damaged crops. Production may fall to as low as 7.5 million bags this season, a 36-year low, according to Andres Valencia, the marketing chief at the National Federation of Coffee Growers.

“Robusta should weaken over time, as production is going to catch up,” John Stephenson, who helps manage $2.7 billion of assets at First Asset Investment Management Inc. in Toronto, said in an interview. “At the same time, you have demand growth in arabica and fairly tight inventories, so I would expect to see robusta fade a bit and relative strength in arabica.”

Coffee Areas in Brazil to Have Dry Weather This Week

Coffee Areas in Brazil to Have Dry Weather This Week : Most coffee-growing areas in Brazil, the world’s largest producer, will have dry weather this week, according to forecaster Somar Meteorologia.

No rain is forecast for producing regions of Sao Paulo state, northern Parana and southern Minas Gerais, Marco Antonio dos Santos, an agronomist at Somar, said in a report e-mailed yesterday. Other growing areas will get only between 10 millimeters (0.4 inch) and 20 millimeters, the Sao Paulo-based forecaster said.

“The weather has gone back to being dry in the past few days,” dos Santos said, adding that the lack of rain left soil drier. Dryness this week will result in “new reductions in soil moisture,” he said.

Coffee prices may gain if the weather in Brazil remains dry “in coming months,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said in a report e-mailed March 28. Arabica beans traded in New York fell 20 percent in the first quarter. Reduced soil moisture has left many beans below average weight, according to Somar.

Harvesting of the 2012-13 crop in Brazil will likely start in the second week of May, dos Santos said.

Coffee, Cocoa Sugar prices march 19 2012

Coffee prices today - Coffee, Cocoa Sugar prices march 19 2012 ; ICE raw sugar futures edged up on Monday as the prospect of a late start to Brazil's sugar harvest supported prices, while expectations of a global surplus in 2012/13 capped the upside.

Arabica coffee futures on ICE were higher, while cocoa was little changed and continued to be stuck in a range.

May raw sugar prices on ICE were up 0.05 cent or 0.20 percent at 25.46 cents a lb at 1517 GMT.

"The story at the moment is more of a technical nearby shortage ahead of the centre-south crop affecting the May position in both markets, rather than an overall bull story," Nick Penney of Sucden Financial wrote in a report.

"The drop in forecast production in centre-south Brazil does not go far enough to dent the overall surplus and justify this rally as there will be plenty of sugar for the second half of 2012," he added.

Dealers said a rebound in New York raw sugar futures and ample supply could cut Thai premiums this week.

Prices rallied strongly last week, with the front month peaking at 25.68 cents on Friday after hitting a two-month low of 23.26 cents a week ago.

"I think with the surplus, which is going to hit some time from May onwards, you're going to see lower prices eventually," one London broker said.

"Even if Brazil is a million tonnes less than originally thought, we've still got a huge surplus, and as far as we can see the Indian crops and the Thai crops are running well in front, the European crop is very good," the broker added.

Indian traders have struck deals to export 60,000 tonnes of raw sugar to Iran for March-April delivery, three trade sources said on Monday, marking their first sales of the sweetener to Tehran since western sanctions were tightened at the start of 2012.

London May white sugar futures nudged down $1.4 or 0.21 percent to $665.20 per tonne.

Indian sugar mills produced 21.2 million tonnes of the sweetener between Oct. 1 and March 15, up 14 percent from a year earlier, a statement from a leading industry body said on Monday.

ICE COFFEE RISES, COCOA DIPS

May arabicas on ICE were up 1.55 cent or 0.85 percent at $1.8390 per lb.

"We've already seen these slight upside moves often in the last few weeks before prices declined further, so it's too early to say that this is the bottom and beginning a longer-lasting recovery," Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch said.

Dealers said the prospect of a global surplus in 2012/13 had diminished investor appetite for the commodity.

The contract slid to $1.8105 a week ago, a 17-month low for the second month.

"I think this decline was rather driven by speculators cutting long positions and now being net short for four consecutive weeks and the highest since late 2008, but given the tight supplies I think there's no justification for that being extended for more weeks," Fritsch said.

Speculators increased their net short positions in coffee futures and options on ICE Futures U.S. in the week ended March 13, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed.

Benchmark Liffe May robusta coffee futures dipped $4 or 0.20 percent to $2,036 a tonne.

Speculators extended net long positions in cocoa and robusta coffee futures and options on NYSE Liffe in the week to March 13, exchange data showed.

Cocoa futures on ICE were fell slightly, with May down $10 or 0.44 percent at $2,246 a tonne.

"The market has been extremely choppy - we're still very much range-bound," one broker said.

Dealers said improving crop prospects in West Africa helped to keep a lid on the market.

Exporters estimated around 10,000 tonnes of beans were delivered to the West African state's two ports between March 12 and March 18, up from 1,941 tonnes in the same week a year ago.

Liffe May cocoa futures slipped 10 pounds or 0.68 percent to 1,469 pounds ($2,400) a tonne.

Uganda Coffee prices for robusta exports january 5 2012

coffee prices today - Uganda Coffee prices for robusta exports january 5 2012 : The Uganda Coffee Development Authority today gave indicative prices for robusta exports, which make up 85 percent of the country’s bean shipments.

Uganda is Africa’s second-largest coffee producer, after Ethiopia, and the continent’s biggest robusta grower.

Nearby refers to deliveries to be made within 45 days and prices are in U.S. cents per pound:

Grade Nearby
Screen 18 81.47
Screen 15 76.47
Screen 12 73.47

Coffee, cocoa futures pricees november 3 2011

coffee prices today - Coffee, cocoa futures pricees november 3 2011 : Cocoa prices were also higher with ICE leading a rebound from recent weakness while hedge selling linked to West African main crop harvests weighed on London.

"London has to contend with decent hedging from Ivory Coast and Ghana and that has narrowed the arbitrage," one London cocoa dealer said.

ICE December cocoa CCc1 was up $35 or 1.3 percent at $2,700 a tonne. The market dipped to $2,523 on Oct. 18, the lowest level for the front month in more than two years.

Dealers said the recent run-up had helped to improve the technical outlook while funds continued to trim their net short position on ICE.

December cocoa on Liffe rose 19 pounds or 1.15 percent to 1,673 pounds a tonne.

Ivory Coast's cocoa industry reform will guarantee that farmers receive at least 60 percent of the market price for the cocoa they produce, Agriculture Minister Coulibaly Sangafowa said on Thursday.

Arabica coffee futures on ICE also rose with December KCc1 up 2.75 cents or 1.2 percent at $2.2675 per lb.

"We are seeing a sympathy rally. It could all change this afternoon if we have some negative economic data," one London dealer said.

January robusta coffee rose $7 or 0.4 percent at $1,869 a tonne.

Coffee prices today Fundamental Outlook 26 2011

Coffee prices today Fundamental Outlook 26 2011 : Coffee prices slipped to a 5-3/4 month low as they extended their downward correction from May’s 14-yr high. Bearish factors include (1) reduced supply concerns with Brazil’s coffee harvest 64% completed and most its beans of high quality, according to Somar Meteorologia and (2) ICO data that showed May global coffee exports rose to 9.3 mln bags, up +16% y/y. Bullish factors include (1) USDA forecasts for global coffee output to fall 2.1% to 135 mln bags in the 2011-12 marketing year, (2) the prediction from Brazil’s Ag ministry for Brazil’s coffee output to fall 9.5% this year to 43.5 mln bags as trees enter the lower-yielding half of their 2-yr cycle, and (3) ICO’s statement that coffee supplies will be “tight” the rest of the year as stockpiles in producing nations stay near a 40-yr low of 13 mln bags.

Fundamental Outlook—Bull Market Correction —Coffee prices are consolidating well below their 14-yr high. Coffee production in 2010/11 rose +8.8% y/y to a record 137.9 mln bags (USDA), but production should fall -2.1% y/y 135 mln bags in 2011/12 Brazil’s 2011/12 (Jul-Jun) production will fall -9.7% y/y to 49.2 mln bags on the off-year of the biennial cycle (USDA).

Coffee bean sales strong despite rise in cost

coffee prices today - Coffee bean sales strong despite rise in cost ; MISSOULA- The perfect mixture of market factors is sending a jolt to the java world.

Missoula's Butterfly Herbs owner Scott Laisy has been with the business for 30 of its 39 years and said this price hike is quite significant.

"I've been informed of two different price increases in the past six months," Laisy said. "They involve speculation in the coffee commodities market, some crop failure and the value of the dollar."

Butterfly Herbs buys beans from about five different roasters on a weekly basis. Last November the shop sold an organic Bolivian blend for $11.55/lb. That same blend went up to $11.95/lb. in December and since March is selling for $12.65/lb.

Laisy said he has a hard time raising the prices.

"I actually stress on that when I have to do that, but it has worked well for us this time with doing these moderate increases that were absorbed fairly well by everybody," Laisy said.

Retailers are raising prices because roasters have had to raise theirs. Black Coffee Roasting Company in Missoula has only been in business a year, but has already had to make weighty business adjustments.

"We've certainly seen, not quite a double in price, but pretty close to a double in some of the beans we buy," Black Coffee Roasting Company co-owner Matt McQuilkin said.

With the cost of beans going up that much, roasters are feeling the heat. It leaves them no choice but to pass on the increase to retailers.

"We absorbed the price for six months of the cost of increasing beans, but then it got to a point where we just had to say, you know, we have to raise our prices," McQuilkin said. "After awhile if you don't increase your prices, you're just losing money."

Spokane's Cravens Coffee has done the same. Owner Simon Thompson said the last increase of this magnitude was in 1997, but the economy was stronger then.

"What makes this a greater challenge for every roaster is that you've got rising cost of goods in a struggling economy," he said. "That's what makes this unique."

But Cravens Coffee will not sacrifice coffee for savings. Instead, they will look to other parts of the business to streamline.

"Quality always prevails," Thompson said. "The worse thing we can do is start saying, ‘Okay, how do we buy cheaper coffee?' Because that's not who we are."

Even though coffee drinkers might not love the higher prices, they're willing to swallow the extra cost.

"I have seen no slow down in sales at all on coffee," Laisy said.

"Even if it keeps going up, I'm gonna still pay for it," McQuilkin said. "Because really, when you think about it, per cup, it's a pretty small price to pay."

Coffee addicts will pay what their charged to stay charged.

"It's the most affordable luxury in the world," Thompson said. "Unfortunately we cannot drink the best of champagne every day for breakfast, but you can drink the best coffee in the world every day."

"When I go to bed at night I dream about the cup of coffee that I'm gonna have in the morning," McQuilkin said.

While Butterfly Herbs has increased its whole bean prices, its coffee house menu remains the same. You can still get a bottomless mug of coffee for $1.

coffee prices today - Central American coffee growers set for price drop

coffee prices today - Central American coffee growers set for price drop : Coffee producers in Central America are using profits from this season's high coffee prices to diversify their income in preparation for an eventual turnaround in the market, by planting new types of crops and offering coffee tours.

"One of the lessons we learned in 2000 when coffee prices fell is that you have to have other sources of income," said Nancy Mendez, head of communications for the Guatemalan Coffee Association, Anacafe.

Coffee officials say they hope this will prevent migration of coffee farmers when prices drop again, and serve as a crutch so that they can continue properly tending to their plantations.

As farmers replace old, low-yielding coffee shrubs with new ones, they are also planting new types of crops that can serve as shade trees for the coffee plants, such as banana and avocado trees.

Rafael Ventura, a coffee producer in Fraijanes, Guatemala, who produces almost 800 bags of 60 kilograms each per harvest, said that in addition to planting new crops, he recently began renting parts of his plantation to families and tourists who want to throw weddings and other parties in a scenic setting.

He is also in the process of turning one of the houses on his plantation into a bed-and-breakfast for tourists who want to learn about coffee, so that he can get extra money that way.

The coffee tourism copies similar programs in Mexico and Costa Rica.

"The coffee sector here isn't very famous yet among tourists, but we want to promote it," Ventura said.

Coffee farmers in Honduras said they have started charging tourists to pick coffee beans and otherwise help with the harvest.

"We want to see if we can take advantage of that manual labor," said Carlos Lara, a coffee expert hired by the Honduran Coffee Institute, or Ihcafe, to give producers advice on how to become more productive.

Juan Angel Welchez, who owns the Finca Santa Isabel coffee plantation in Honduras, picks up people from hotels in Copan Ruinas, one of the country's main tourist attractions, and charges them for a tour of his plantation.

"Under the majestic trees, you will observe some of the 85 species of birds, many butterflies, medicinal herbs and wildlife that thrive in this amazing tropical jungle," says a pamphlet promoting the coffee tour.

International coffee prices haven't been this high since 1997, when coffee farmers throughout the region "went crazy" and bought cars, televisions, cell phones and other material goods unrelated to the coffee business, Lara said.

When prices fell a few harvests later, producers had no savings and many were forced to abandon their plantations.This season, coffee farmers say they are being smarter about their spending, using profits to start side businesses on their plantations

Wholesale coffee prices have risen significantly this year, Coffee prices up from wholesale to diner

Coffee prices today - Wholesale coffee prices have risen significantly this year, Coffee prices up from wholesale to diner ; Wholesale coffee prices have risen significantly this year, sending the price of a pound of coffee at the market or a cup at the diner up as well, dealers say.

A 1-pound can was selling for an average of $5.10 in April, the U.S. Department of Labor reported. That was up from $3.64 a year earlier.

"These are big increases -- and I don't think we're done with it," Phil Lempert, editor of the SupermarketGuru.com blog, told the Los Angeles Times. "We're going to see higher prices on coffee for a very, very long time."

Tim Castle, a coffee importer and expert, said prices are likely to rise faster at first in stores than in restaurants. He said restaurants often sell brewed coffee for four times what they pay for it, which allows them to hold the line on price increases for a while.

But even there, prices are going up. The Starbucks chain hiked prices for some of its drinks last fall and is planning a 17 percent increase in the price of coffee beans it sells retail in its coffee shops.

Experts say there are a number of reasons for the price increases. They include bad weather in many coffee-growing areas, which has cut down on the supply, while residents of developing countries like China are drinking more coffee, just as they are using more gas.

Kenya coffee export earnings seen higher 2010/11

Kenya coffee export earnings seen higher 2010/11 - Kenya coffee export forecast 2011 : NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya expects its coffee export earnings to rise by 5-10 percent in the 2010/11 season thanks to good prices and improved output, the ministry of agriculture's top official said on Tuesday.

Statistics from industry regulator Coffee Board of Kenya showed east Africa's biggest economy earned 16 billion Kenyan shillings from the 2009/10 (Oct-Sept) coffee season, a 50 percent jump from the previous year.

This was despite a drop in output to 40,000 tonnes due to bad weather from 54,000 tonnes in the 2008/09 season, when the industry earned 10.7 billion shillings.

Sales at the Kenyan coffee auction more than doubled in the first quarter of the 2010/2011 crop season, rising 112 percent to $45.73 million.

"Despite the early break in the 2010/11 marketing season we expect earnings to grow by between 5 and 10 percent," Agriculture Ministry Permanent Secretary Romano Kiome told Reuters in an interview.

"Prices have been robust throughout the season and we expect that to reflect in the overall earnings later in the year."

Kenya last month suspended its weekly auction of the commodity following a relentless dip in volumes and crop quality. The auction resumes on June 7. Kenya's coffee marketing season typically breaks around the July-August window.

Kenyan coffee prices have hit records this year -- climbing as high as $1,022 per bag -- because of high prices internationally and a squeeze in the local supply.

Kiome said output from the 2010/11 season was expected to be between 12,000 and 15,000 tonnes higher compared to production in the 2009/10 season on improved weather.

"The weather looks promising so far and unless we have any incidences of coffee berry disease towards August then the crop output will be very good. We expect output to grow by between 12,000 and 15,000 tonnes," he said.

Traditionally, coffee volumes at auction surge around March but they peaked earlier this year after the east Africa nation witnessed unusually heavy rains in the first months of last year.

Kiome said a surge in the number of youthful entrepreneurs taking up coffee farming is expected to revamp the industry.

"It is thrilling to see more young farmers moving to take over the coffee farms and injecting fresh ideas and energy. This is certain to drive both quality and output volumes for the good of the industry," he said.

"The good prices being realised globally have made many especially the youth to rethink about coffee as a serious business venture."

The official said government-led reforms were also encouraging more farmers to invest in coffee production.

Most small-scale coffee farmers disillusioned by poor earnings have neglected their coffee trees or chopped them down altogether and taken up dairy farming in frustration at years of hard toil with no returns.

According to new rules, co-operatives can keep only 20 percent of net sales and must pass on the rest to farmers. Growers are also replacing corrupt co-operative officials that siphoned their cash, which is also beginning to bear yields.

Coffee prices expected to rise as a result of poor harvests and growing demand

Coffee prices expected to rise as a result of poor harvests and growing demand : The price of a cup of coffee is likely to go up further as coffee prices have topped $3 a pound for the first time in more than 34 years. Poor harvests of high-grade arabica coffee beans and a growing taste for gourmet coffee among burgeoning middle classes in China, Brazil, Indonesia and India are behind the sharp rise.

New York's July arabica contract hit $3.025 (£1.85) a pound on Wednesday, the highest since 1977 when prices fell in the aftermath of a devastating frost two years earlier in Brazil, the world's biggest producer, which accounts for a third of all coffee. Coffee futures inched lower to $2.94 on Thursday.

Investors have been encouraged to buy arabica beans by a weaker dollar, which makes dollar-denominated assets less expensive to buyers in other currencies. They are also buying commodities as a hedge against inflation. Coffee prices have more than doubled in the past seven months. Supplies are running low because heavy rain led to worse than expected harvests in Colombia, the second-largest producer of arabica beans after Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and Vietnam.

"We expect prices to hit further highs on production downgrades, the decline in global stocks and supply tightness that should keep markets fearful of any disruptions," said Sudakshina Unnikrishnan, commodities analyst at Barclays Capital. "This is likely to be reflected in higher retail prices which operate with a lag."

Supermarket coffee prices have been going up around the world. In Britain, a 227g bag of ground filter coffee cost £2.60 in March, compared with £2.28 a year ago, according to the Office for National Statistics. A 100g bag of instant coffee was £2.47, up from £2.27. Most of the coffee drunk in Britain is instant.

Experts believe that supermarket prices will continue to rise, while the cost of a latte or cappuccino at a coffee shop is expected to increase less – only a small part comes from coffee, while the rest mostly reflects rental and staff costs.

Costa Coffee owner Whitbread claims the price of a small cappuccino (£2.10) has not gone up for two years, apart from the impact of the recent VAT increase. However Starbucks has started charging more for packaged coffee.

"Globally, you will see increases in all coffee-based product prices," said Paul Rodin, head of supply chain and procurement at Cafédirect, which buys coffee from cooperatives.

Small farmers are benefiting from higher wholesale prices. "They will be getting a lot more if they have coffee to sell. It is good news for farmers who were affected by natural disasters and lost their crops. But if more people are planting coffee, in two to three years prices will inevitably come down."

The latest surge in coffee prices comes only days after the International Coffee Organisation, which represents producers and consumers, warned that scarce supplies of arabica beans continued to "support high price levels". The London-based group does not expect that coffee stocks, which are at their lowest level for 50 years, will build up this year.

Demand is likely to outstrip supply again this year – the fifth consecutive deficit. The arabica harvest is about two weeks away in Brazil, while picking of robusta beans is already under way.

Coffee prices increase

You've heard stories the past week about the rising price of gasoline. That's not the only thing you may be paying more for.

The price of coffee has increased three times since the beginning of last summer. Now, it's up by 20 to 25 percent.

Some of the reasons for the increase include a decreasing dollar and increasing production costs.

So far, though, most customers haven't had to pay more for their daily cup of coffee.

"On the retail side, our prices are staying the same, on the whole sale side, our costs are going up but it's not just coffee, it's everything. Coffee has taken a 20-25 percent hit," Pete Wilson, owner of Coffee Grounds said.

Coffee Grounds have not raised their prices in about a year.

They plan on it, along with other local coffee shops soon, to keep up with their bottom line.

Colombian coffee prices at near record high

coffee prices today - Colombian coffee prices at near record high : The price of Colombian smooth arabica coffee closed Friday at $3.2293 per pound, its highest price for 34 years according to the International Coffee Organization (ICO), Portafolio reported Monday.

This peak price was recorded two days after the $3 per pound barrier was broken on Wednesday. The ICO and traders attributed the high price to a shortage of coffee, as well as technical factors and an increase in the price of commodities, fueled by the weak dollar.

Whilec it is of note that the price paid by importers in Hamburg and New York includes shipping and insurance, the director of the ICO, Jose Sette, highlighted that the price is the real, prevailing price of the day, governed by the global market.

The record for smooth arabica was set at $3.32 per pound on April 14, 1977.

Colombia grows 80% of the world's smooth arabica coffee with the bean also produced in Tanzania and Kenya.

The price of Colombian coffee has risen by $0.581 during the year, translating into good prices for the internal market.

In March Colombia's export of coffee rose by 53% with 884,000 sacks of 132lb exported compared to 576,000 sold in the same month last year.