Category Archives: Import/Export

Coffee Producers Demand Immediate Price Action

Coffee Prices have been mostly falling for the last few years. After the coffee rust devastation in 2012, many farms had low production until the new plants started fully producing. Today, the struggle is to try and increase prices to a level that will allow farmers to continue growing. Via Roast Magazine:

A consortium of major organizations representing coffee producers throughout the world has issued a sweeping condemnation of the global coffee industry as the “C price” for coffee sits at historic lows.Without immediate action to supply better collective prices to the world’s approximately 25 million smallholder farmers, the coffee industry may likely be contributing to a widespread humanitarian crisis as coffee farmers abandon coffee in favor of illicit crops or migrate in search of better opportunities, the group warned today.Thirteen organizations representing the World Coffee Producers Forum — including Colombia’s FNC, Africa’s AFCA, Latin America’s Promecafe, Brazil’s BSCA and the United States/Europe’s Specialty Coffee Association — have attached their name to a declaration calling for immediate action in response to low coffee prices.The groups are specifically addressing the ICE futures price for commodity coffee — often called the “C Price” — which is widely used as a price discovery and reference tool in the creation of futures contracts for transactions of green coffee. Throughout the coffee sector, the C price serves as a benchmark that affects prices at virtually all levels of the coffee trade.

Coffee Futures Prices

Source: Coffee Producers Demand Immediate Action Amidst Price Crisis – Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine

Links: 4/14/17

Here’s a few links for your weekend reading pleasure. Have a good one, and be safe…

Links:

Coffee – the journey in video

How much does it cost to plant coffee?

Amazing heat storage device….from the middle ages

7 Secrets to perfect compost

Megafloods formed this amazing area in eastern Washington State

10 Companies control everything you buy

Water has built up in a uranium mine near the Grand Canyon, Now what?

Specialty Coffee Association Big Event April 20-23, Seattle

China plans Panda reserve 3 times the size of Yellowstone

 

Links: 3/20/2017

It’s the first day of Spring, and we’re enjoying sunny days and temps in the 80’s, so it’s a pretty nice time to be in Arizona. The flowers are popping up daily (and our noses are running!) Some pics to follow in an upcoming post.

It’s a great day for roasting delicious coffee! Soon it will be time for cold brew 🙂

Meanwhile, here’s a few links:

Stir Magazine February/March Online Magazine

Behind the scenes with cold brewing

An unprecedented minimum price guarantee for the farmers

World of Coffee – Budapest June 13-15

Travels with the chocolate bean

Flooding in Peru has caused mudslides and left thousands homeless

Architect turns old cement factory into home (Cool!)

Larry the cat fails on the job at 10 Downing Street

A look at American farming by a an English sheep farmer

Why nothing works anymore

Saguaros

Peru: Coffee Production Looks Strong for 2016

We’re hearing anecdotally that Peru’s coffee production is going to be strong this year, maybe even returning to levels not seen since 2011 before the dreaded coffee rust came.

It’s not just coffee though, other export crops are fairing well in Peru:

 

Peru to double its exports by 2021

According to the Exporters Association (Adex), despite the stagnation experienced in 2015, Peruvian agricultural exporters expect to double exports to USD $10 billion dollars in 2021.

The union’s goal for 2016 is to surpass the USD $6 billion dollars in exports, thus overcoming the USD $5.093 billion dollars and 0.06 percent drop over 2014 achieved in 2015.

According to data from Adex, 85 percent of the non-traditional agricultural exports abroad are of fresh grapes, coffee, asparagus, avocado, quinoa, fresh mangoes, organic bananas, and paprika.

Worldwide, Peru is the number one exporter of asparagus (fresh, frozen and canned), quinoa, and maca; the second biggest exporter of asparagus and artichokes; the third biggest exporter of organic bananas and dried paprika, and the fourth largest exporter of table grapes and paprika powder.” Continue reading Peru: Coffee Production Looks Strong for 2016

Real People, Really Good Coffee Update February 2016

It’s soon to be spring here in Arizona, and already talk is to the harvest of 2016.  and we are making new friends and contacts, each helping to grow our direct trade coffee business, and hopefully impact a few more lives in the coffee supply chain. This month, not a whole lot new to report, but behind the scenes many things are happening in the fields… Continue reading Real People, Really Good Coffee Update February 2016

Real People, Really Good Coffee Update January 2016

It’s a new year, and as we look back at 2015, we realize that so many good things happened that seemed far off and fuzzy just a short year ago. January has flown by, and we are making new friends and contacts, each helping to grow our direct trade coffee business, and hopefully impact a few more lives in the coffee supply chain. Continue reading Real People, Really Good Coffee Update January 2016

Peru Joins the International Coffee Organization

Peru has become the latest country to join the ICO (International Coffee Organization.) The benefits of being a member are a big plus for Peru. By enacting more standardized procedures including: traceability via regional tracking of coffee crops, training, and more importantly shared information on conditions in the fields, the end result can be beneficial to all involved in the coffee supply chain. Congratulations Peru!

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and Peru have become the latest two producing nations to be accepted into the International Coffee Organization (ICO).

The Executive Director of the ICO Robério Oliveira Silva met with Ambassador of Peru to the United Kingdom Claudio De la Puente this week, to deliver the new member’s instrument of accession to the International Coffee Agreement (ICA).

Peru’s accession and DR Congo’s ratification brings the ICO’s exporting membership up to 24 countries.

Peru’s total coffee production in crop year 2014-15 was 2.9 million 60-kilogram bags.

Full article here: DR Congo and Peru join the ICO | Global Coffee Report

About the ICO (from the official website:)

The International Coffee Organization (ICO) is an intergovernmental organization created under the auspices of the United Nations to serve the international coffee community. Established in 1963, the ICO is unique in bringing producing and consuming countries together to exchange views on coffee matters and market conditions, and address coffee policies. Among the services provided by the ICO are: up-to-date information and statistics; innovative projects to benefit the world coffee economy; coffee market reports and economic studies; consultations on coffee sector finance; as well as conferences and seminars.

The Organization is working to promote an awareness of the need for a sustainable coffee economy by making stakeholders in the coffee sector aware of the threat to sustainability posed by negative economic conditions for producers, and proposing measures in areas such as quality, promotion and diversification to maintain balance in the world coffee market. Recognizing the exceptional importance of coffee to the economies of many countries which are largely dependent upon this commodity for their export earnings and for the achievement of their social and economic development goals, the Organization also encourages sustainable development and poverty reduction in producing countries through projects which have as their principal beneficiaries the coffee producing countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific region.

The International Coffee Council will hold the 4th World Coffee Conference in 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The theme of the conference will be confirmed soon.

Coffee Exports Drop to a 5 Year Low

Commodity coffee prices have rebounded off of the recent lows in the wake of a new report that says coffee exports have declined year over year. Via the Global Coffee Report:

The International Coffee Organization (ICO) has revealed in its latest report that total coffee exports sunk to a five-year low for coffee year 2014-15.The ICO has reported that total exports came to 110.7 million 60-kilogram bags; the first year-on-year decreases in export volumes for five years.

Neither Arabica nor Robusta were exempt from the downward trajectory, with a 1.9 per cent and 4.9 per cent drop in shipments recorded for the two species.

The Colombian Milds group was successful in bucking the trend this coffee year, with the ICO reporting an increase of 11.6 per cent in exports.

Brazil recorded its largest ever volume on record, finishing on 36.3 million. The ICO said that this represents a 1.8 per cent increase on coffee year 2013-14.

The October report found that Vietnam saw severely restricted exports over the last 12 months, down 19.2 per cent to an estimated 20 million bags.

Full article here: Coffee exports drop to five-year low | Global Coffee Report

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

It’s Sunday in Tarapoto, and a sometimes cloudy, sometimes blue sky day with steamy temps and that jungle sultriness that is welcome when coming from Lima, but tortuous on a hot night when every sound is amplified and your skin is covered with a thin film of sweat. One can hope for rain, it feels imminent.

The coffee has shipped, it’s slowly working its way to Manzanillo, Mexico, where after a brief port call will head on to Los Angeles and finally to the warehouse there. At that point, we’ll have the goods, and the hard work of sending samples, meeting with roasters, and following up on web contacts and sales begins. Meanwhile, the waiting is the hardest part…

 

Continue reading The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Real People, Really Good Coffee, Update August 2015

Update 09/12: The coffee has passed FDA inspection, it should clear Customs in the next few days! 

In this post see the 2015 coffee lineup!

At this writing we’re waiting for the coffee to be loaded into a container & sent to Peruvian Customs. Just a few more hurdles & it should be on it’s way to your cup. (yes!)

The time has flown by, and at last we can look back and realize that we’ve accomplished our goal, which was to find excellent coffee & buy as much as possible direct from the grower. There are only so many things that a class or school can teach about importing coffee. Ultimately, you just have to do it, and roll with the punches as they come.

Continue reading Real People, Really Good Coffee, Update August 2015