ICO says coffee consumption to grow by half million bags

“For the year 2009 preliminary estimates indicate that world consumption will be close to 129 million bags,” International Coffee Organisation said in a report.

Drinking habits

However, the report indicated that there might be changes in patterns of consumption, as people may shift to more in-home drinking.

Meanwhile, the report also said the world coffee production for crop year 2008-09, needed to be revised upwards from the current estimate of around 127 million bags due to a strong performance by Vietnam.

Vietnamese exports have already exceeded 14.6 million bags in the first nine months of the coffee year (October 2008-June 2009), representing a monthly average of 1.6 million bags, the International Coffee Organisation Report further added.

In the next three months, the total Vietnamese production in 2008-09, is likely to reach 19 million bags, it added.

Reduced target

The report said, higher output is expected in Africa, Asia and Central America.

“Preliminary estimate of total production in crop year 2009-10 is around 127 million bags,” it said.  Though there is still some coffee to be harvested between July and September In Colombia, the production target has been considerably reduced there to 9.5 million bags.

Brazil’s production of Arabicas too has been lowered for 2009-10 due to the biennial cycle of coffee production.

The authorities of the Latin American country have indicated an estimated total production of 39.1 million bags, which included 28.3 million bags of Arabicas, compared to 35.5 million bags in the previous crop year. The total exports in June 2009 was 8.5 million bags, bringing the cumulative total for the first nine months of the coffee year to 74.3 million bags compared to 72 million bags for the same period in 2007-08, an increase of 3.1 per cent. Exports by Vietnam have reached 14.6 million bags in the first nine months of the coffee year, while that of Colombia 7.1 million bags. Colombia had shipped 9.1 million bags in the first nine months of the previous coffee year, it added.