The international price of grain rose to $ 2.11 yesterday May 12. The guild domestic price change scheme. This price was reported by the International Coffee Organization (ICO) and, paradoxically concern to the national coffee institutions.
According to the OIC, the reference price for May 12, which was released today is 211.32 cents per pound of Arabica Colombian soft. But in New York, the price even already reached 226.25 cents per pound.
The reference price is an average between the market of New York and Germany. In this country, the pound reached 199.58 cents. These prices are the highest since 1997.
The concern of the OIC and exporters it surveyed is that the Colombian coffee is rising simply because there is sufficient supply after the winter of last year.
As prices rise, to account for the commitments would be met with lower-quality coffee while beverage producers would replace the Colombian blended coffees by others.
The Government and the National Federation of Coffee Growers now define a strategy to try to maximize the recorded high grain prices in the international market, despite the low production reported by the country.
The Finance Minister Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, anticipated that there will be measures to ensure that growers can benefit 500,000 families of growing momentum in prices. Therefore, he said, will announce the implementation of a new system of valuation and determination of domestic price of grain. This is a scheme approved by the National Coffee Committee which promotes the grain quality and aims to improve farmers' income.
The exceptional moment prices has become something of a paradox for the sector, since there is not enough coffee to sell.
Jorge Lozano, president of the Association of Coffee Exporters Private, Asoexport, said "there is distress in the guild" because you do not have enough product to meet the offices.
"The farmer has to be happy because you are compensating for the lack of production with a very good price. Unfortunately not much to sell and that is our trouble, "admitted the leader. He said that despite the good prices the prospect of a boom not seen anywhere, simply because there is no grain available. "It's a very unpleasant situation for the toaster. He has the need to purchase Colombian coffee and the high prices do not like even five. And going to search that does not happen again, "he said. "We have a client who is looking for alternatives. That's not good for the Colombian coffee, "the President of Asoexport.
Lower production
Lozano said it is anticipated that between July 2008 and June next, coffee production to fall 2.5 million bags compared to previous period. This is a "very important figure," he said, facing a production of 11.5 million bags estimated for the entire year.
The leader revealed even though not yet have the production figures given last April, "the decline was substantial because the records of coffee for export stood at about 450,000 bags, 200,000 less than normal."
According to the National Federation of Coffee, Colombian production fell 30% the first two months of 2009 compared to same period last year, while exports declined by 20%.
According to the report, the fall was due to "lower production of grain, fruit of the renovation of coffee plantations, the effects of reduced fertilization and winter of the last months of 2008."
Meanwhile, the escalating price of coffee is attributed by economic analysts to a phenomenon of market speculation. Indeed, investors fear that this year there will be a substantial reduction in the supply of major producing countries like Brazil, and have begun to bet on higher prices in the future, so that the price began to climb. In Brazil, the production will fall about six million bags this year, according to estimates by the Government of that country.