Uganda coffee fetches $48.6 million in just two months

Uganda’s coffee export volumes increased to 446,286 bags, bringing in Ush86.5 billion ($48.6 million) in the past two months as stocks of the world’s second most traded commodity ran out globally.

Compared with same months in the previous year (2007/2008), this year’s earnings shot up in value by $10 million.

In 2007/2008, over the same months, the country exported 371,440 bags valued at $38.6, according to the monthly reports from Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA).
UCDA attributes the surge to the harvesting and marketing of the 2008/2009 coffee crop, which has has received favour from good weather and fair prices in international markets. Coffee reaching the export grading factories was also of very good quality and desirable moisture content.

Coupled with the harvesting of high altitude Arabica coffee, which had been delayed by bad weather, this month’s volumes are projected to swell to the tune of 300,000 bags, some 40,000 bags more than realised in December last year.

The projection is based on favourable weather for the drying process and on farmers cashing in on the festive Christmas season.

Increased production in the 2008/2009-crop year will however, not have a significant impact on the global stocks, according to industry experts, because the current yield will be used to reconstitute declining stock as well as to respond to requirements for domestic consumption and exports.
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Region Kenya: Coffee prices rise on quality

Prices for Kenyan coffee improved at Tuesday's auction ahead of a month-long seasonal break and thanks to better quality, an auction official said.

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The average price for all grades rose to $168.25 per 50-kg bag from last week's $167.99 per bag.

Although Kenya produces only about 1 percent of global output its beans are valued by roasters who blend them with coffee from other countries, earning the east African economy an average of some $100 million each year.

"The two main factors are that we are closing for a month and we are also seeing a bit of good qualities," said Daniel Mbithi, an official of a group that conducts sales at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE).

The auction will resume on January 13.

Beans that have been arriving for sale in the past few weeks have been from the tail end of the fly crop, which do not usually make top notch brews.

But better quality coffee from the main crop is now in the market.

"There is a bit of influx from the main crop and we are starting to see some good prices too," Mbithi said.

A total 20,335 bags were on offer and 16,570 of them sold for a total $3.4 million.

Ethiopia’s Coffee Crop May Fall 60% in Two Main Areas

Coffee output in the two main export-growing areas of Ethiopia, Africa’s largest producer of the beans, may decline 60 percent because of drought, the United Nations said.

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The lower harvest may aggravate malnutrition in southern Ethiopia’s Gedeo and Sidamo zones, where hunger is rife as a result of the drought, falling world coffee prices and higher food prices, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a report today.

Production in Gedeo may fall 67 percent from a year earlier, while that in Sidamo may decline 53 percent, Tamirat Mulu, the author of the report, said in a phone interview in the capital, Addis Ababa, today. The report was based on a livelihood assessment carried out by relief agencies between Nov. 17 and Dec. 5. Ethiopia’s main coffee harvest is from October through December.

Ethiopia exported 170,888 metric tons of coffee last year. About 35 percent of that was high-grade washed coffee and 65 percent lower quality dried coffee. Sidama and Gedeo provide about 60 percent of Ethiopia’s washed coffee, Mulu said.

By Jason McLureDec. 17 (Bloomberg)

Region: Indonesia, Vietnam reeling from downturn

The global economic uncertainty is having a detrimental impact on the coffee industry in Southeast Asia - particularly in Indonesia and Vietnam.

The worst affected growers are those planting Robusta coffee, who tend to be the poorest of the region's farmers. According to reports, while prices have been slumped, stockpiles have been building up - meaning that even if there is a rise in demand, prices are likely to remain low. The director of the Central Queensland University's Centre for Plant and Water Science, David Midmore, told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program, that this could be an opportunity for farmers."The price of coffee's probably gone down about 20 per cent over the last six weeks," he said."But on the other hand, it may open up some opportunities because over the last year or so, the price of other agricultural commodities such as cereals has more than doubled."

Associate head of the Purdue University Agricultural Economics Department, Gerald Shively, has studied the impact of falling coffee prices on Vietnamese smallholders.He explains though, that it is not always easy for farmers to switch."One of the fundamental problems with perennial crops is that they often go through boom and bust cycles because farmers who are responding to higher prices plant the crops," he said."But in a case of coffee, it takes two to three years for the crop to begin producing and then when the coffee prices decline, farmers are somewhat locked in to the fact that they have coffee plants in production."

Professor Shively says these farmers had been attracted by high prices in the mid-90s, which transformed rural life in parts of Vietnam.However, because of seasonal differences, in Indonesia, the poorest farmers are being shielded from some of the impact. "In Indonesia, we have so far Arabica and Robusta and the harvest seasons are inverted, so fortunately the Robusta farmers, who are the ones producing the cheaper coffee, their main crop was when the price were at the highest," said coffee exporter Olivier Tichit from IndoCafe."Fortunately for them they could sell most of their products, maybe 85, 90 per cent of their coffee at very good prices."You can find the full story at the Connect Asia website: http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/connectasia

Region: Tanzanian Coffee prices firm at Moshi aution

Oct 3
Tanzanian coffee prices firmed slightly at last week's auction as buyers sought to cover their positions ahead of a Muslim holiday, traders said on Wednesday. The Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) said 46,150 60-kg bags were on offer on Thursday last week, with 44,984 sold. In the previous week's sale, 32,623 60-kg bags were offered for sale, with 16,926 sold.

Benchmark grade AA sold at $175-$129.40 per 50-kg bag, compared with $170.00-$130.00 per bag at the last auction. Grade A was bought at $170-$133 per 50-kg bag, compared with the previous week's $152.40-$129 per bag. "The quantities on offer were quite handsome. Generally, prices were very firm. It could be mainly (due to) shippers who are short of coffee," said Kennedy Keya, a trader with Dorman Tanzania.

"The quality is good. Prices may have been firm because there's no auction in Tanzania (this week) so many people are trying to cover their short positions." Tanzania largely produces arabica coffee but also grows robusta, thriving mostly in the northern, southern and western parts of the country in areas around Mount Kilimanjaro and Lake Victoria. The auction, held in Moshi took place on last week but TCB released the results on Wednesday.

Getting the Coffee Straight from the Beans

Good Information here!

by Johnathan Bakers

There are do many different types of beans and the plants will fall in three different categories. The Arabica, first known on the Arabian Peninsula and the Robusta that contains about two times the amount of caffeine in every cup. This is going to be something to wake you up in the morning for sure.

These beans are going to be different that of wine because of the thing called coffee berry that is decided not because of the fruit but due to the bean that is found inside it. A bean is aged perfectly, roasted and then ground and brewed. Coffee is going to be as it has never been before with this type of bean, you could use it with your cappuccino maker.

The beans are actually going to be found in two different ways. There will be green and the red with the red having the most in smelling power of oil and the much lower acid amounts. This is used to make the higher quality coffees. One of the biggest deals in the life of bean is when it leaves the shelf from the time it was plucked.

Beans are usually picked from the hands of people and this means that there are only a few baskets done a day. They have to separate the red and the green and it is something that is a big job requirement. This is due to the huge impact on the outcome of the coffee.

Having good cappuccino is going to depend on the way that the bean is picked. The fruits can be soaked, scoured, and rubbed by machines. After this, the beans are going to be washed and removed from the part that is still there. This is going to be known as the fermentation period and will bring about beans that are dried in the sun over a large concrete or rock. This will go on until at least twelve percent is determined to be water.

The beans are then going to be displayed by their size and color and done more so by a machine. Some of the beans are going to be thrown away and others will be polished to take the skin off. For some of them, the beans are going to be aged for three to eight or nine years and the others are going to be ready for roasting in one year. This will make your cappuccino makers happy!

With the 400-degrees Fahrenheit that these beans are roasted at, they will grow to at least twice their dried out size. They may crack and even change color as the green goes to brown because the oils from the inside are being released. The oil will give the different types of coffees their true and delicious taste that we love so much.

There are so many different types of techniques that have been found for the roasting part. The beans from the Java and Kenya are usually going to be barely roasted and produce a delicious flavor for coffees. Once the roasting is done the beans, will then produce a carbon dioxide for a few days and this will make the beans because rid of their gasses? Airing or packing them in the semi-permeable bags that is made for shipping only does this.

The result is going to happen a few weeks from now. They are going to be ground where there will be differences in styles and results. In some of the cases, the burr grinders are going to crush up the beans to a size that is normal like a granule. With the others, the choppers are going to be used to chop up the beans so small with a tinier result. There is also Turkish coffee that will be made with the pounding of the beans to almost powder. This will be done with mortar and pestle.

The deciding taste is the brewing. This will be where there will be a variety of styles and ways for each brewing company. All of the good differences will be in one of four degrees and they are boiling, pressure, gravity and steeping. With boiling, the water is hot and ran through the actual grounds as they are going to be filtered out. With the pressure type, this will be espresso for most, they are going to be lightly boiled and the water will force the grounds through with the intense hot pressure. The gravity or what is also known, as drip brew will have hot water dripping onto the coffee grounds that are inside filters. This is typical for most people because they are going to want to use the coffee makers that are easily bought today. Also steeping is going to be much like the method of having tea with tea bags. This is even though the bags are a lot larger than others are.

This is going to be a long journey from the places that coffee comes from but the coffee beans are going to make it to your kitchen from the jungle. Many love a great drink. With the new ways of research and the actual health benefits from the coffee consumption, increasingly love it all the time. It is a great way to have a little picked me up anytime of the day or night. There are many flavors to love and so many will want to try increasingly.