MILAN – Coffee futures markets fell sharply yesterday, Wednesday 2 October, following news of the European Commission’s proposed postponement of the implementation of the EUDR. In New York, the contract for December of the Ice Arabica lost 765 points (-2.9%) to close at 256.50 cents.
The Ice Robusta contract for November delivery fell as much as 6.1 per cent (-$334) to settle at $5,111, a three-week low.
News from Brussels helped to ease market tensions. The EUDR postponement – if approved by the Parliament and Council – allows certified stocks held at European warehouses to be used to satisfy contracts, preventing coffee from being decertified for the time being.
Weather reports out of Brazil, which predicted widespread rainfall over the coming week, also helped to push prices lower.
In addition, the Inmet service reported that some regions of EspÃrito Santo and Rondônia, the two largest Robusta producing states, had received between 10 and 50mm of rain over the past five day.
More worrying, however, is the situationis the situation in the US, where a portworkers’ strike has left hundreds of containers of coffee piling up in warehouses.
Delays in the delivery of imported coffee to industrial buyers threaten to push up consumer prices, which are already at mulit-year highs.
US stocks are already at historic lows as high interest rates discourage importers from holding large inventories. The port blockade is likely to exacerbate the situation.
According to Indonesian government data, Robusta coffee exports from the island of Sumatra rose 17.9% in August to a total of 317,585 bags. This brings the total for the first five months of the current year to 899,167 bags, roughly in line (-0.15%) with last year’s figure.
