STiR coffee and tea magazine

16 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 6, 2017 (December / January) Coffee Report: Dan Shryock Big Crop Forecast in 2018 Favorable weather and flowering trees suggest good growing conditions for ara- bica in Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer. Timely rains in Brazil during the flowering season and a strong set in Vietnam resulting in a near record crop suggest a good year ahead. Rainfall in parched Brazil was 76% above average in October in Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo. Coffee futures rose sharply this time last year but have gradually fallen from $1.76 per pound in November 2016 to between $1.20 and $1.30 per pound. Prices "have drifted downwards since the end of August" according to the International Coffee Organization (ICO) averaging 120.01 cents a pound last month, a 17-month low according to ICO's composite index. Price variance was 17.8% from a low of $1.13. ICO estimates world consumption in 2016-17 at 1.19 million bags greater than production. The year ended in Septem- ber with a 2.38 million bag surplus. "After increasing for two consecutive years, world coffee consumption is estimated to have remained stable," the ICO said. ICO's robusta coffee index fared relatively well, in easing by 0.8% to 98.39 cents a pound. "As we continue our journey with Tata, a company that shares the same values and vision for growth, we remain committed to earning the trust and respect of our Indian customers through the unparalleled Starbucks experience," said John Culver, group president, Starbucks international and channel development. Tata Starbucks also plans to open three more stores in Kolkata (Calcutta) in early 2018. INDONESIA Primaduta Award to Colectivo Indonesian President Joko Widodo presented Colectivo Coffee the presti- gious Primaduta Award for supporting Indonesian exports at an Oct. 11 ceremony in Jakarta. Colectivo was nominated for the award twice before becoming this year's recipient in the category for small and medium ventures in primary and non-traditional markets. Colectivo sources approximately 20% of all green coffee beans from Indonesia, working extensively with cooperatives and farms like Koperasi Ketiara, a Fair Trade, female-owned and operated co-op in the Sumatra region. The jury team for the assessment of Primaduta Award is composed of professionals, practitioners and/or international economic / trade observ- ers, academics, journalists, chambers of commerce/associates and others. Colectivo was nominated by the Indonesian Trade Promotion Center located in Chicago. NICARAGUA Opportunity for Female Farmers Grounds for Empowerment, a program created by the University of Emory's Goizueta Business School, has an- nounced an initiative to provide more economic opportunities for female coffee growers. The effort, part of the school's Social Enterprise @ Goizueta research center, establishes an incubator in which Grounds for Empowerment helps specialty coffee farmers develop business knowledge and networks that they can use to cultivate successful farming businesses. Women farmers who graduate from the program then help take the program to new locations and pass on what they've learned. The program is starting by partnering with Nicaragua's Vega Coffee. Coffee will be grown, roasted, and shipped from Nicaragua, allowing participating farmers even greater engagement in specialty coffee value chains. The program's end goal, according to a statement, is to see female coffee growers earning 40% of the retail price of specialty coffee. That income can be reinvested in the community. The Social Enterprise @ Goizueta center created the "Grounds for Empow- erment" program "to create economic opportunities for female coffee growers who are typically not given opportunities or funding in the specialty coffee market," the statement said. Training for Small-Scale Farmers Grow Ahead, a non-profit organization supporting small-scale coffee farmers, has begun farmer-to-farmer training in the organization's climate resiliency program. The program is financed by a $15,000 online fundraising campaign. Grow Ahead partnered with Coop Coffees for the training in Somoto, Nicaragua, that included field visits to a successful reforestation project work in Tata-Starbucks India Empowering female farmers Grow Ahead coffee training program Photo by Monika Firl, Coop Coffees INDIA Starbucks Opens 100th Store Starbucks marked its fifth year operating in India with the opening of its 100th store. The October opening in Mumbai was the latest expansion by Tata Starbucks Private Ltd., the 50/50 joint venture between Starbucks and Tata Global Beverages and was intended to reaffirm the partnership's long-term commitment to India.

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