LONDON – ICO executive director Roberio Oliveira Silva, reiterated its forecast that world coffee consumption is expected to take a sudden jump over the coming five years, with global demand, fuelled by Westernization.
“Consumption is increasing as societies in India, China and Latin America continue to be Westernized,” the ICO’s executive director Roberio Silva told the Wall Street Journal.
World consumption was estimated by the ICO at about 145 million bags in calendar year 2013, but by 2020, coffee demand may jump to as much as 175.8 million bags.
The forecast comes as coffee prices have increased due to a drought in Brazil, and other growers, including Vietnam, India and Indonesia are unlikely to increase production to stabilize markets in the near future, Judith Gaines Chase of the U.S. commodity consultant J. Ganes Consulting LLC told the Wall Street Journal, adding that Brazilian currency fluctuation has impeded stability.
