STiR coffee and tea magazine

30 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 6, 2017 (December / January) S Power Port even in 10 containers that transit the Gulf of Mexico are processed at Port Houston, an important gateway for green coffee and other commodities enter- ing the United States. An estimated 2.2 million TEUs (twenty-foot container equivalents) passed through the port's two container terminals in 2016 and about 142,000 TEUs, or 6.5 %, were coffee imports, port officials said. Early numbers for 2017 show more than 2 million TEUs already processed through October. The port expects to exceed 2.4 million TEUs by the end of the year, a 9% increase compared to 2016. Those numbers will continue to climb. Larger container ships are arriving via the expanded Panama Canal with more on their way. New Panamax ships are more than 1,200 ft. long and carry 13,000 TEUs – more than double old Panamax capacity of 5,000. Three new cranes arrive in Houston from China aboard as specially designed ship Port Houston is growing to meet the demand. The Barbours Cut and Bay- port container terminals located east of Houston off Galveston Bay are expand- ing. Four supersized cranes already are in operation at the Barbours Cut and another three new cranes arrived in late October from China. Once in operation several months from now, the new units will tower 270 feet above the dock. More cranes already have been ordered for the Bayport Terminal, officials said. The new cranes are part of a $700 million terminal modernization program designed to increase cargo handling effi- ciency and capacity. "We remain confident of continued growth in the container sector, both on the import and export side, during the remainder of this year and into 2018," Port Houston executive director Roger Guenther said. The port's role in coffee Outside factors heavily influence future green coffee imports but local coffee industry leaders expect Port Houston to support them. "Coffee is a commodity; therefore we cannot speculate about the growth (of coffee imports)," said María Patricia Echeverry, v.p. of operations for coffee warehouse Cadeco Industries, Inc., and a former president of the Greater Houston Coffee Association. "But Houston has shown excellent performance in the han- dling and storage of exchange coffee, and we expect that will let us continue grow- ing. We also expect additional growth in the commercial coffee volumes stemming from the widening of the Panama Canal, since we will have direct and faster service from Asia." While the port serves a variety of import and export segments, the "food and drink" category – including coffee – was the No. 1 commodity import during 2016 with more than 136,000 TEUs, or 15.3%, of all commodity imports, accord- ing to Port Houston statistics. By Dan Shryock Arriving Coffee 2017* 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 10-yr Avg Green (000 kgs) 97,525 126,049 97,002 83,547 78,489 72,838 75,830 73,802 86,265 106,956 93,322 89,410 Roast (000 kgs) 1,045 1,077 917 1,130 1,367 1,225 1,254 913 1,232 2,637 1,877 1,363 Green Decaf 2,067 2,491 3,181 3,289 3,376 1,132 2,717 4,716 5,477 7,406 6,485 4,027 Roast Decaf 23 25 50 66 67 1,033 528 330 464 47 147 275 Total (60-kilo bags) 1,678 2,161 1,686 1,468 1,389 1,271 1,339 1,330 1,558 1,951 1,698 1,585 Container Performance at Port Houston (TECU 20-foot equivalent units) % Growth Imports n/a 1,076,940 993,935 926,081 935,258 922,419 910,996 865,916 900,673 855,615 866,776 24% (2007-16) Exports n/a 1,105,780 1,143,187 1,032,170 1,016,864 1,012,426 956,712 951,253 898,004 939,705 904,747 22% (2007-16) Total n/a 2,182,720 2,137,122 1,958,251 1,952,122 1,934,845 1,867,708 1,817,169 1,798,677 1,795,320 1,771,523 23% (2007-16) Photos courtesy Port Houston *Jan.- Sept. 2017 Information provided by Descartes Datamyne™ Port Houston figures hold to seasonal adjustments and rounding.

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