Brazil - Award-winning coffee sells for record price at auction

 

Japanese coffee shop buys Geisha coffee, from Fazenda Rainha, for R$84,500 (U$ 17,175 ) per bag

By Isadora Camargo — São Paulo

12/13/2023 05:03 Updated 5 hours ago

Geisha coffee, from Fazenda Rainha, from Orfeu Cafés, in São Sebastião da Grama (SP), was sold for R$84,500 per 60-kilo bag to the Japanese Sarutahiko Coffee, in the auction of the winning coffees of the Cup of Excellence 2023 The amount paid was the highest in history for a Brazilian dry coffee. The Japanese company won three bags.

The Geisha batch was the winner of the dry category of the competition, which is organized by the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA) in partnership with the Brazilian Export and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil) and the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE). Another 29 samples awarded in the Cup of Excellence participated in the auction on the 6th.

Japan is among the top ten buyers of Brazilian coffee, with 2.07 million bags between January and November this year, according to Cecafé.

The president of Orfeu, Ricardo Madureira, attributed the value achieved at the auction to the quality of the Geisha type and the dry method. “It is more difficult to achieve high quality in the dry process, because the grain is not washed after harvest. This requires getting the coffee collection right. By drying in the plant, the sugar from the pulp passes into the grain and produces a sweeter drink”, explained the executive.

Being more than 1,500 meters above sea level, coffee requires regenerative care, such as cover crops. The farm also maintains 35% of the native forest in the coffee plantation. “All of this increased the price of coffee at auction,” he said.

The auction raised R$1.5 million, after almost nine hours and three thousand bids. The value was reflected in the average price of the lots, which reached R$ 13 thousand per bag.

The second highest bid was given to wet coffee (peeled, pulped or demucilated cherry) from Fazenda Rio Verde, owned by Ipanema Agrícola, located in Conceição do Rio Verde (MG). The bag was purchased for R$40,700 by Grupo Cafeza, from Brazil.

The third highest bid was for fermented coffee from the same property, which reached R$32,700 per bag. The batch was acquired by the Chinese Decameron Coffee.

Companies from Germany, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Bulgaria, South Korea, the United States and Norway also purchased coffees, which Madureira considers a foreign 'awakening' of Brazilian beans. For him, acclaim helps transform internal consumption, generating a ritual similar to wine tasting.

Aware of changes in consumption, Orfeu wants to increase its participation in the specialty coffee segment, launching product lines in Brazilian retail.

The company's president revealed that, in 2024, a special edition of the batch purchased by Japan will be prepared for sale. The brand also started selling three new types of coffee in premium supermarkets (acauã, arara and japi) as part of its growth strategy, projected at 30% for 2024.FF

Café premiado é vendido por preço recorde em leilão (globo.com)

Quick highlight spices market update 11th December 2023 – Week 49.

 

 

The price of pepper has increased by 4% compared to last week. This means that the price of black pepper has increased by 14.5% since the beginning of November, despite the fact that the largest consumer of Vietnamese pepper, China, has not made any purchases for over a month. The main reason is the dwindling stock levels in the last months of the year, while the main harvest of 2024 is still over 2 months away.

BRAZIL Black Pepper December 2023

Brazilian black pepper prices are on the rise in recent weeks, due to the lack of stock and since Brazilian farmers are not willing to sell what's remaining of their product in lieu of the severe drought in growing regions. 

The harvest in Para state in Brazil has just finished. The region is currently enduringa drought, with the most significant impact anticipated for the 2024 crop.

Brazil exported 58,000 MT, 4% down from the last year.
Volumes partly shifted from the US and EU to Africa and Asia.
Excess rain in Dec-Feb hurt the Espirito Santo (ES) crop, while Para, where the harvest has just finished, is now suffering from a drought linked to El Niño. 

Finnaly since the last weekend prices exploded and the local market is very volatile, with prices changingby hour, making impossible long lasting firm offers.

Cardamom - Guatemalan crop is expected to be 35% shorter than last crop

December 6, 2023

Guatemalan crop is expected to be 35% shorter than last crop, due to severe dry weather which has damaged the crop. Arrivals have started during November, so about 1.5 months late. Arrival volumes are increasing, but are still well below normal levels. Because of the above, prices have strongly increased vs last crop. 

Quick highlight spices market update 27th Nov 2023 – Week 47.

 

 

The price of black pepper continued to show a clear upward trend in November, with an increase from 69,000 VND (1st/11/2023) to 73,500 VND (26th/11/2023), corresponding to a price increase of 6.5% in November. The main reason for this is the strong demand from major import markets for end of year 2023 and Q1/2024 shipment.

This year’s harvest season in Vietnam is expected to be relatively similar to the previous year, with a few small harvest locations in early January and the main harvest season starting in late February or mid March 2024. This means there are still about 3 months until the 2024 harvest season.

 

Problems with Black Pepper crop in Brazil

 
Want to bring to your attention a message we received yesterday from one of Brazilian exporters focusing on market situation in Brazil now:

We would like to inform about the pepper market nowadays, in which we are facing difficulties to find suppliers willing to sell, or with stock.

The main cause of this situation is the heatwave that is happening , from the phenomenon named El Niño" that is causing a extreme temperatures in Brazil, including producing areas, and as we stated before, pepper can only resist 32 celsius, and in some areas is reaching 43. 

Suppliers are very concerned regarding their production that seems to be affected for next years and this small crop we are facing in  the end of the year. 

It’s being extremely difficult to find pepper on the market to buy nowadays  

As we are seeing no supplier is offering and they are bringing price up since of this causes i’ve mentioned.

Therefore, new contracts placed after this week will only be shipped in January 2024.

Việt Nam's pepper inventory for 2024 is estimated the lowest level

 

 November 13, 2023       

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam's pepper output of the 2022-2023 crop has all been exported, so the amount of pepper inventory for 2024 will be the lowest level in recent years, according to Việt Nam Pepper Association. 

Việt Nam's pepper export volume in 2023 is expected to reach 250,000 tonnes, including volume from import and inventory from the previous year. 

The average export price in the first 10 months of 2023 reached $3,553 per tonne of black pepper, and $5,082 per tonne of white pepper.

The export price of black pepper in October, 2023  reached 3,664 USD/ton, White pepper reached 5,211 USD/ton,

Hoàng Thị Liên, chairwoman of the Việt Nam Pepper Association, said that despite difficult market conditions, the industry has achieved good export performance in the first 10 months of this year. 

In the last months of the year, the exports could depend on the amount of inventory carried over from previous years. 

The association forecasts that global pepper output in the 2023-2024 crop is stimated to decrease. 

However, the reduction in volume is still lower than the decrease in global consumption demand, so it is forecast that pepper price is unlikely to increase continuously in the long term, according to the association.

The domestic businesses also estimate that Việt Nam's output in the 2023-2024 pepper crop will decrease by about 10-15 per cent to 160,000-165,000 tonnes. 

Excluding China, the upcoming consumption demand of countries around the world may decline due to the impact of the economic crisis resulting from the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts. The world economic recession decreases purchasing power in the future.

Besides that, consumption of major markets, including the US and EU - key export markets of Việt Nam, are unlikely to recover in the short term.

Analysts estimate that next year's output is expected to decrease in India by 20 per cent, Indonesia by 20-30 per cent, Việt Nam by 15 per cent, and Brazil by 15 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Import-Export Department, forecasts that Việt Nam's pepper exports will remain at a low level because the domestic supply is no longer abundant and consumption demand in the US and EU markets has not really improved. 

At present, the amount of exported pepper originating from Việt Nam has run out. The total amount of inventory and import is about 80,000 tonnes, including the inventory of about 30,000 tonnes. 

In the last months of this year, the enterprises will export the imported and pre-existing inventory pepper with a volume of about 50,000 tonnes. 

In the long term, Việt Nam's pepper supply is forecast to be in short supply due to fierce competition from other crops such as durian and passion fruit, according to the association. 

Liên said that if the cutting of pepper trees for growing fruit trees is prolonged, Việt Nam may face a pepper supply shortage in three years. That may cause farmers to miss out on trading at high prices.

Exports in 10 months

China was Việt Nam's largest pepper export market with a volume of 57,723 tonnes in the first 10 months of 2023, accounting for 25.8 per cent of the total export, according to preliminary statistics of the Việt Nam Pepper Association.

The volume rose by 265.3 per cent over the same period of last year. 

However, China's import volume in recent months tended to decrease after purchasing enough pepper volume in the first two quarters of the year.

The US was Việt Nam's second largest pepper export market with 42,600 tonnes, accounting for 19.1 per cent of the total and declining by 6.3 per cent over the same period.

Meanwhile, Europe occupied 19 per cent of the total exports, decreasing by 4.8 per cent over the same period.

The pepper exports also declined by 8.5 per cent to 10,538 tonnes to India, and 29.8 per cent to 10,025 tonnes to UAE market over the same period. 

However, the two markets of Turkey and France recorded a sharp increase in pepper exports of 69.7 per cent and 31.1 per cent, reaching 3,900 tonnes and 3,097 tonnes, respectively. 

Other markets had high growth in pepper exports included the African market (up 9.9 per cent), Egypt (30.1 per cent), South Africa (10.5 per cent) and Senegal (35.6 per cent).

The association reported that in October 2023, Việt Nam exported 19,193 tonnes of pepper, earning $72.7 million. The figures rose by 15.4 per cent in volume and 17.3 per cent in value. 

The average export price in October 2023 reached $3,664 per tonne of black pepper, and $5,211 per tonne of white pepper.

In the first 10 months, Việt Nam exported 223,578 tonnes of pepper, including 200,571 tonnes of black pepper and 23,007 tonnes of white pepper.

Total export turnover reached $750.8 million, including $640.2 million of black pepper and $110.6 million of white pepper.

Việt Nam gained an increase of 14.6 per cent in volume but a reduction of 11.7 per cent in value compared to the same period last year.

The average export price in the 10 months of 2023 reached $3,553 per tonne of black pepper, and $5,082 per tonne of white pepper. They declined by 17.6 per cent for black pepper and 15.6 per cent for white pepper compared to the same period last year.

Leading Exporters this year

Nedspice was the largest pepper export enterprise in 10 months with a volume of 15,462 tonnes, an increase of 8.5 per cent over the same period in 2022.

Some other leading export enterprises under the Việt Nam Pepper Association, included Olam Việt Nam (15,326 tonnes); Pearl (14,144 tonnes); Phúc Sinh (12,720 tonnes) and Haprosimex JSC (9,015 tonnes). — VNS

Complied by Hoàng Hà
November 13, 2023