Slow start to the Year

The Coffee and Tea Authority (C&TA) is concerned about slow registrations and reduced exports. The C&TA has been pressuring shippers to sell and ship, particularly old crop stocks. Minimum registration prices for New Crop continue at very elevated levels:

Yirgacheffe 2 301 c/lb

Sidamo 2 292 c/lb

Limu 2 233 c/lb

Sidamo 4 189 c/lb

Lekempti 5 168 c/lb

Djimmah 5 167 c/lb

at these prices little is being registered for export and indeed little is available to be exported! Old crop minimum registration prices are substantially lower however they fail to attract buyers; there is little demand for tail end of the crop quality. Truth be told, demand is non existent, roasters are still hibernating. It is likely that the C&TA will remain frustrated for a few weeks longer!

Meanwhile only the upper coffee belt in harvesting cherries. Prices for cherry in the Southern regions (Guji, Bensa and Yirgacheffe) range from 80 to 90 birr/kg making FOB prices over 400 c/lb…

In other coffee growing regions (Djimmah, Limu) washing stations are closed, any coffee remaining to be harvested will be Natural.

There is increasing talk of devaluation, the government is discussing this issue with the World Bank and other bilateral organisations with a view to secure financing to rebuild the damage caused to the country’s infrastructure from 2 years of fighting with Tigray rebel forces. Furthermore, Tigray region is in dire need of humanitarian assistance as fighting and drought have pushed the region to the brink of starvation.

Coffee shippers are hopeful that the end of the fighting might bring an increase to the proportion of USD that exporters can keep to purchase imported goods, currently this proportion is 30% however if this was increased to 50 to 70% it would facilitate exports and improve shippers’ bottomline.

Birr 53.36 = USD 1

Have a good weekend.