On Tuesday, coffee prices shrunk on reports that rainfall in Brazil has boosted moisture levels and assisted the commodity’s tree flowering, improving the country’s crop prospects.
In the Asian afternoon session, US crop futures for December contracts plummeted by -2.39% to $263.78 per pound. London robusta futures for November delivery slid by -1.02% to $5,431.00 per metric ton.
According to reports, Brazil’s green coffee exports increased by 1.40% year-over-year (YoY) to 3.41 million bags. The surge in the country’s shipments was consistent with other recent reports showing better exports.
Meanwhile, the International Coffee Organization (ICO) revealed that 2023/24 global coffee production rose 5.80% YoY to 178.00 million bags in an exceptional off-biennial crop year.
Also, ICO noted that world current-season coffee consumption climbed by 2.20% YoY to 177.00 million bags, resulting in a 1.00 million bag surplus.
Reports revealed that the USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) forecasted global coffee output in 2024/25 will surge by 4.20% YoY to 172.24 million bags.
Arabica production is projected to increase by 4.40% to 99.86 million bags, and robusta output is expected to rise by 3.90% to 76.38 million bags.
Moreover, USDA’s FAS anticipates that the following season’s ending stocks will jump by 7.70% to 25.78 million bags compared to 23.93 million bags in 2023/24 data.
Jamaican Farmers to Get Assistance to Regulate Coffee Prices
Jamaica’s Portfolio Minister Floyd Green noted that although the government is not accountable for price setting, it can help coffee farmers determine the crop’s costs.
Green also noted that no administration wants to control prices, as cost regulation could lead to unexpected circumstances.
However, he stated that he had informed the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA) that it was time to openly declare what they considered a fair market price for coffee. Green added that he had assigned the authority to conduct the research.
Furthermore, the minister said that the investigation results would be released and that he had suggested the urgency of his call to JACRA.