Tanzania arabica coffee prices fall

BY BUSINESS REPORTER

TANZANIA’S Arabica coffee prices fell at last week's auction, taking their cue from markets in New York, while robusta coffee prices rose on supply shortages, the regulator Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) said yesterday.  

Tanzania mainly produces arabica coffee and grows some robusta. Prices of its arabica normally track the New York market while those for robusta take their cue from London.    

State-run TCB said 29,333 60-kg bags were offered at the sale with 23,097 bags sold. A total of 21,473 bags were up for sale in the previous auction, with 17,786 bags sold. 

"Overall average prices at the Moshi exchange were down by

$6.38 per 50 kg for mild arabica and up by $11.02 per 50 kg for robusta compared to the last auction," TCB said in its weekly report.     

TCB said trading for arabica coffee has slowed as supply of the beans to the auction increased. 

 "The market for arabica coffee has gone down a bit ... there was a lot of coffee being supplied from the southern parts of the country," Primus Kimaryo, director of quality and promotion at the state coffee board said. 

"The outlook is a bit tricky. Exporters sometimes experience shipment snags during December and might want to carry over their contracts to next month, so this could slowdown demand in the coming auctions."  

Market players said they expect coffee prices to rise in the auctions ahead of the holiday season, before they start to decline in January.        

 "We expect prices to rise a bit because many exporters like to finalise their stocks and close trading by December 15th," Athanasio Massenha, commercial manager at the Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union, said in a telephone interview from Moshi.    

"Coffee supplies from the south of the country are starting to run out, so we expect coffee from the north to flow in December and January."         

TCB said coffee prices in New York were down last week by $5.90 per 50 kg, while London prices rose by $3.60 per 50 kg.

 "Average prices were above the terminal market by $27.56 per

50 kg and $25.69 per 50 kg for mild arabica and robusta respectively," said TCB.