Global coffee exports should pick up later in the season as lower production in top grower Brazil is offset by growth in Africa, Asia and Central America, the International Coffee Organization (ICO) said on Friday. Exports are off to a slow start in the 2017/18 season, which began on Oct. 1, partly due to lower output from Brazil and heavy rains in Colombia, which have delayed harvesting, the ICO said in its monthly report.
World coffee production is projected to increase by 0.8 percent to 158.69 million bags 60-kg bags in 2017/18. But figures last week showed global coffee exports in October fell 11.4 percent year on year. "Production in South America is projected to decrease by 3.1 percent due in part to the lower-than-expected output in Brazil during crop year 2017/18," the ICO said.
Coffee output in Asia and Oceania is expected to climb by 4.4 percent as crop-friendly weather is likely to boost yields in Vietnam, the world's top producer of robusta coffee. Production in Central America and Mexico is likely to climb by 4.3 percent in the 2017/18 season.