THE WORLD COFFEE TRADE
Supply and Demand
After petroleum, coffee is the world's most important traded commodity, standing above coal, meat, wheat and sugar. The global harvest, however, is subject to considerable fluctuations from year to year. These fluctuations are caused by a variety of factors. Besides climate-induced fluctuations, both the amount of coffee produced and the price charged for it are determined by the commercial policy interests of the producing and purchasing countries. This explains why the total annual harvest figures tend to be variable rather than constant.
Coffee Agreement
From year to year, it appears that the quality of the harvest continues to be irregular, unpredictable and unstable. So, in order to maintain some control and minimize the inevitable fluctuations in production and subsequently in price, cultivating and purchasing countries regularly renew a 'Coffee Agreement'. This aims to stabilize the price between supply and demand. To date, effective implementation has met with limited success.
All coffee agreements used to fall under the control of the 'International Coffee Organization (ICO), established in London in 1962, but in 1989 all agreements were dissolved, because the opinions of the producers and the consumers were too divergent. From then on coffee became a free-trade commodity
Coffee facts
Things worth knowing.....
-
Approximately 20 million people work in the coffee industry worldwide.
-
Coffee is the second most actively traded commodity, right after oil.
-
Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer.
-
The estimated value of the export of green coffee is 10 billion dollar.
-
Coffee has many different varieties, more than 60!
-
Only two coffee varieties have an economic significance: Arabica and Robusta.
-
Black coffee (without sugar or milk) does not contain calories (less than 1 Kcal.)
-
Caffeinated coffee shows a beneficial effect on alertness and improves performance in a variety of tasks in both day and night sessions.
-
The popularity of dark roasted coffee is high in Southern Europe .
-
A good coffee tree can produce up to 1 kg of raw coffee per year.
-
In contrast to what most people think, coffee does not grow in plain brown beans, but in red berries carrying green beans (two beans per berry).
-
During roasting the coffee beans dry out and the sugars in the beans start to caramelise.
-
The most important form of trade in coffee are both the stock market and the 'effective' coffee trade.
-
The quality of a cup of coffee does not depend on the blend only but also on the ratio of the amount of water and coffee used for brewing.
-
The present coffee producing belt around the globe encompasses approximately 70 countries.
-
Coffee only grows in tropical and sub-tropical regions.
-
The coffee tree needs an average temperature of between 17° C and 23° C as well as abundant precipitation and good soil conditions.
-
The original home of coffee was the Abyssinian highlands.
-
TOTAL PRODUCTION OF EXPORTING MEMBERS |
|
|
|
CROP YEARS 1997/98 TO 2002/03 |
|
|
|
|
|
(000 bags) |
|
|
|
Crop year commencing |
|
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL |
|
96 130 |
106 117 |
114 523 |
112 334 |
109 952 |
118 803 |
|
|
|
|
1 April |
|
36 270 |
49 737 |
44 776 |
44 850 |
46 429 |
60 382 |
1/ |
Angola |
(R) |
64 |
85 |
55 |
50 |
21 |
56 |
|
Bolivia |
(A) |
153 |
150 |
184 |
173 |
124 |
149 |
|
Brazil |
(A/R) |
22 758 |
34 650 |
32 345 |
32 005 |
33 950 |
48 480 |
|
Burundi |
(A/R) |
297 |
356 |
501 |
337 |
257 |
433 |
|
Ecuador |
(A/R) |
1 191 |
1 206 |
1 198 |
871 |
893 |
731 |
|
Indonesia |
(R/A) |
7 759 |
8 458 |
5 499 |
6 947 |
6 731 |
5 670 |
|
Madagascar @ |
(R/A) |
623 |
992 |
427 |
366 |
147 |
417 |
|
Malawi |
(A) |
61 |
64 |
59 |
63 |
60 |
44 |
|
Papua New Guinea |
(A/R) |
1 076 |
1 351 |
1 387 |
1 041 |
1 041 |
1 108 |
|
Paraguay |
(A) |
34 |
34 |
28 |
31 |
31 |
31 |
|
Peru |
(A) |
1 930 |
2 022 |
2 663 |
2 596 |
2 749 |
2 900 |
|
Rwanda |
(A) |
194 |
222 |
308 |
273 |
307 |
280 |
|
Zimbabwe |
(A) |
130 |
147 |
122 |
97 |
118 |
83 |
|
|
|
|
1 July |
|
3 278 |
2 627 |
3 061 |
2 861 |
2 601 |
2 745 |
1/ |
Congo , Rep. of @ |
(R) |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
|
Cuba |
(A) |
300 |
280 |
328 |
313 |
285 |
239 |
|
Dominican Republic |
(A) |
941 |
422 |
694 |
437 |
432 |
426 |
|
Haiti |
(A) |
435 |
442 |
402 |
422 |
402 |
410 |
|
Philippines |
(R/A) |
935 |
685 |
739 |
775 |
759 |
729 |
|
Tanzania |
(A/R) |
624 |
739 |
837 |
821 |
624 |
824 |
|
Zambia |
(A) |
40 |
56 |
58 |
90 |
96 |
114 |
|
|
|
|
1 October |
|
56 582 |
53 753 |
66 686 |
64 623 |
60 922 |
55 676 |
|
Benin @ |
(R) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2/ |
Cameroon @ |
(R/A) |
889 |
1114 |
1 370 |
1113 |
1 200 |
1 100 |
2/ |
Central African Rep. @ |
(R) |
115 |
214 |
241 |
122 |
75 |
117 |
2/ |
Colombia |
(A) |
12 211 |
11 024 |
9 398 |
10 532 |
11 999 |
11 250 |
2/ |
Congo , Dem.Rep. of |
(R/A) |
800 |
644 |
457 |
433 |
430 |
735 |
2/ |
Costa Rica |
(A) |
2 500 |
2 350 |
2 404 |
2 253 |
2 166 |
2 188 |
|
Côte d'Ivoire @ |
(R) |
4 164 |
1 991 |
6 321 |
4 846 |
3 492 |
3 433 |
|
El Salvador |
(A) |
2 175 |
2 056 |
2 599 |
1 706 |
1 629 |
1 342 |
2/ |
Equatorial Guinea @ |
(R) |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2/ |
Ethiopia |
(A) |
2 916 |
2 745 |
3 505 |
2 768 |
3 756 |
3 750 |
|
Gabon @ |
(R) |
3 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2/ |
Ghana |
(R) |
28 |
45 |
44 |
38 |
17 |
45 |
2/ |
Guatemala |
(A/R) |
4 219 |
4 893 |
5 120 |
4 940 |
3 669 |
3 143 |
|
Guinea |
(R) |
172 |
140 |
112 |
114 |
101 |
125 |
2/ |
Honduras |
(A) |
2 564 |
2 195 |
2 985 |
2 667 |
3 036 |
2 500 |
2/ |
India |
(A/R) |
4 646 |
4 434 |
5 495 |
4 526 |
4 970 |
4 588 |
2/ |
Jamaica |
(A) |
46 |
29 |
39 |
37 |
30 |
44 |
|
Kenya |
(A) |
882 |
1 173 |
1 502 |
988 |
992 |
918 |
|
Liberia |
(R) |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
3/ |
Mexico |
(A) |
4 802 |
4 801 |
6 219 |
4 815 |
4 200 |
4 000 |
2/ |
Nicaragua |
(A) |
1084 |
1073 |
1532 |
1 595 |
1 108 |
1 016 |
|
Nigeria |
(R) |
45 |
46 |
43 |
45 |
41 |
45 |
2/ |
Panama |
(A) |
218 |
192 |
167 |
170 |
160 |
150 |
3/ |
Sierra Leone |
(R) |
50 |
24 |
76 |
28 |
15 |
45 |
3/ |
Sri Lanka |
(R/A) |
58 |
35 |
38 |
43 |
31 |
40 |
3/ |
Thailand |
(R) |
1 293 |
916 |
1 271 |
1 692 |
548 |
907 |
2/ |
Togo @ |
(R) |
222 |
321 |
263 |
197 |
116 |
300 |
2/ |
Trinidad and Tobago |
(R) |
20 |
17 |
16 |
14 |
14 |
15 |
3/ |
Uganda |
(R/A) |
2 552 |
3 298 |
3 097 |
3 205 |
3 166 |
2 800 |
|
Venezuela |
(A) |
986 |
1 001 |
717 |
956 |
822 |
1 070 |
2/ |
Vietnam |
(R) |
6 915 |
6 972 |
11 648 |
14 775 |
13 133 |
10 000 |
2/ |
1/ Derived on the basis of estimated gross closing stocks at the end of the crop year |
|
|
2/ Estimate to be confirmed by the Member |
|
|
|
3/ Estimated |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
© International Coffee Organization |
|
|
