Lower global demand pushes down coffee prices by 9.5pc
A coffee farmer harvests his crop. Global coffee prices have fallen on lower demand. PHOTO | file
What you need to know:
- The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) report has indicated a decrease in the world commodity prices for coffee due to lower global demand and increased supply, following higher harvests in major exporting countries.
Dar es Salaam. Lower global demand has pushed down coffee prices by 9.5 per cent, a new report has revealed.
The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Monthly Economic Review for April 2019 shows that Robusta coffee prices were down by 14.6 per cent to $1.8 per kilo in March 2019, from $2.1 in March 2018, while Arabica coffee prices fell by 9.5 per cent to $2.9 from $3.2.
According to the report, the decline in coffee prices was mainly attributed to lower global demand, carried over stocks and high production in Brazil.
Brazil is the world’s largest coffee exporter. However, Vietnam tripled its exports between 1995 and 1999 and became a major producer of Robusta seeds. Another important producer is Indonesia.
Correspondingly, the month-on-month Arabica coffee price fell to $2.7 on February, a 3.5 per cent decline compared to $2.8 in January 2019, while Robusta coffee prices were down by 1.7 per cent to $1.7 during the period under review.
The monthly decline was also attributed to an increase in production, mainly in Brazil.
The last auction results held on March 21, 2019 by the Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) at the Moshi Coffee Exchange show that the average price for a 50-kilo bag of coffee depending on grade ranged from $274.0 for grade AA to $62.6 for grade C. The amount offered at the auction was 8,617 bags, out of which 5,464 bags were sold. Overall average prices at the exchange were down by $4.41 for 50 kilos of mild Arabica compared to the last auction held on March 7, 2019.
