Last shipments of 22/23 crop close by

The Coffee & Tea Authority has reduced Minimum Registration Prices for 22/23 Crop Grade 5 coffees to try to boost shipments and clear warehouses of old crop as New Crop 23/24 is about to arrive in Addis for milling. New Crop 23/24 Minimum Registration Prices FOB Djibouti, are not so attractive, at around +100 for Grade 2 coffees from the South and 20 under for Grade 5s. The harvest continues to progress well with the Southern coffee producing regions approaching peak picking. Weather conditions remain favourable with a mix of rain and sunshine.

Most coffee growing areas are peaceful and safe. Cherry prices are increasing in the South reaching 40 Birr per kg cherry in some areas of Guji, however competition is subdued as a financing is limited and keeping a lid on out of control price hikes. Farmers are disappointed and we expect a higher than normal proportion of Naturals as a direct consequence of the perceived low prices for freshly picked cherries.

New crop Sidamo 4 FOB offers are competitive; shippers anticipate that the crop will be reasonably priced at farmgate level, demand subdued (Far East buyers are frustrated with the challenges of buying Ethiopian coffees over the past 2 crops).

Striking a more positive note, the city of Aksum was the centre of celebrations in recent days as reported by the BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-67589089

Birr 55.76 = USD 1

Regards