KAMPALA, June 5, 2024 – Exports of all forms of coffee from Africa increased by 44.8 percent to 1.74 million bags in May 2024 from 1.21mln bags in May 2023, according to the Coffee Market Report June 2024 released by the International Coffee Organisation [ICO].
The report says as a result, the cumulative total of 9.28mln bags for the first eight months of coffee year 2023/24 is up 10.9 percent, as compared with the 8.37mln bags shipped in coffee year 2022/23.
According to the report, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Uganda were the driving forces behind the region’s growth in May 2024, with their exports having increased by 119.4 percent, 97.1 percent, and 22.1 percent, respectively, to 0.21mln bags, 0.69mln bags, and 0.55mln bags as compared with 0.1mln bags, 0.35mln bags, and 0.45mln bags in May 2023.
The Uganda Coffee Development Authority [UCDA] reported the arrival of the newly harvested main crop from Masaka and Southwestern regions as the reason behind the strong growth in May 2024, says the report.
On the other hand, the report says Ethiopia’s rebound is due to a continued comparative normalisation of market circumstances. Contract disputes arising from a mismatch between local purchasing prices and global market prices had affected the volume of exports in the first half of calendar year 2023.
More recently, the report says, Ethiopia’s exports were also affected by the lack of ships available at Djibouti, the main point of exit for the landlocked country’s goods, due to the insecurities around the Red Sea. By way of example, while at least one vessel was available per day previously, this has now reduced to one per month. However, on March 28, 2024, Maersk, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, released a statement lifting its suspension of all bookings to and from Djibouti, which was implemented on January 30, 2024.
Meanwhile, global green bean exports in May 2024 totalled 10.76mln bags, as compared with 9.61mln bags in the same month of the previous year, up 12 percent. As a result, the cumulative total for coffee year 2023/24 to May is 84.02mln bags, as compared with 75.31mln bags over the same period a year ago, an increase of 11.6 percent.
“The Brazilian Naturals, once again, were the main group responsible for the overall strong growth observed in May 2024, accounting for 118.4 percent of the 1.15-mln-bag net gain in total exports,’ says the report.
Total exports of soluble coffee decreased by 11.3 percent in May 2024 to 0.95mln bags from 1.07mln bags in May 2023. In the first eight months of coffee year 2023/24, a total of 8.24mln bags of soluble coffee was exported, representing an increase of 5.1 percent from the 7.84mln bags exported in the same period during the previous coffee year.
Soluble coffee exports
The report says soluble coffee’s share in the total exports of all forms of coffee for the year to date was 8.9 percent in May 2024, down from 9.4 percent in the same period a year ago. Brazil was the largest exporter of soluble coffee in May 2024, shipping 0.38mln bags.
Exports of roasted beans were up 29.8 percent in May 2024 to 68,167 bags, as compared with 52,524 bags in May 2023. The cumulative total for coffee year 2023/24 to May 2024 is 0.48mln bags, as compared with 0.46mln bags in same period a year ago.
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