Africa coffee exports plummet 7.2 percent

KAMPALA – Exports of all forms of coffee from Africa decreased by 7.2 percent to 1.14 million bags in May 2023 from 1.23mln bags in May 2022, says International Coffee Organisation [ICO] in its Coffee Market Report for June 2023.

According to the report, for the first eight months of the current coffee year, exports totalled 8.1mln bags as compared with 8.6mln bags in coffee year 2021/22, down 5.8 percent.

The report adds: “Côte d’Ivoire and Ethiopia are the main drivers behind the fall in the region’s exports, with their combined shipments decreasing by 19.4 percent to 0.45mln bags as compared with 0.56mln bags in May 2022.”

In Ethiopia, contract disputes arising out of a mismatch between the local purchasing prices and global market prices have been affecting the volume of exports since the early months of 2023, with exporters withholding the coffee until the disputes are resolved.

Meanwhile, global green bean exports in May 2023 totalled 9.56mln bags, as compared with 9.61mln bags in the same month of the previous year, down 0.6 percent. “The downturn was driven by the Colombian Milds and the Brazilian Naturals.”

This is the sixth consecutive month of negative growth for total exports of green beans since the start of coffee year 2022/23. As a result, the cumulative total for 2022/23 to May is 74.59mln bags, as compared with 79.01mln bags over the same period a year ago, down 5.6 percent.

The report on the other hand says world coffee consumption increased by 4.2 percent to 175.6mln bags in coffee year 2021/22, following a 0.6 percent rise the previous year. “Release of the pent-up demand accumulated during the Covid-19 years and sharp global economic growth of 6.0 percent in 2021 explains the sharp bounce back in coffee consumption in coffee year 2021/22.”

However, the report says, decelerating world economic growth rates for 2022 and 2023, coupled with the dramatic rise in the cost of living, will have an impact on the coffee consumption for coffee year 2022/23. “It is expected to grow, but at a decelerating rate of 1.7 percent to 178.5mln bags.”

“The global deceleration is expected to come from non-producing countries, with Europe’s coffee consumption predicted to suffer the largest decrease among all regions, with growth rates falling to 0.1 percent in coffee year 2022/23 from a 6.0 percent expansion in coffee year 2021/22. Balance. As a result, the world coffee market is expected to run another year of deficit, a shortfall of 7.3mln bags.”

https://thecooperator.news/uganda-coffee-exports-in-may-slightly-lower/

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