Maximum ECX Prices

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In early 2020 the Coffee and Tea Authority introduced Minimum Registration Prices for export coffee, now we have Maximum Sales Prices at ECX! Consequently Agrabes stopped selling coffee at ECX! It is easy to understand why, one day you are selling at 1,900 and the next the price is capped at 1,300! In recent weeks ECX prices have been driven upwards on tight supply and huge demand, both for Export and by Internal Demand, Exporters complain that the ECX price is too high but I am not sure that capping the price is going to help exporters…

Exports in November decreased as is normal for this time of the year, however the pace of sales is much lower viz a viz 19/20; the period May to November 2020 is 46 k MT behind the same period May to November 2019:

	20/21	19/20
May	25,967	28,449
June	25,790	29,294
July	19,015	26,512
August	19,995	30,279
September	14,443	23,696
October	13,018	19,966
November	11,964	18,328

(Export figures in MT)

Meanwhile registered sales of Washed New Crop 2020/21, for shipment first quarter 2021, is very low as a direct consequence of the high Min Prices for Sidamo and Yirgacheffe, these grades cannot be registered below 220 c/lb; Limu seems quite reasonable at around +50 FOB equivalent. Steady business for Lekempti and other Naturals for both current and new crop this week.

Birr 38.48 vs USD

Have a good weekend.