Uganda’s coffee exports of 378,238 bags led shipments from African countries, followed by Ethiopia, according to the International Coffee Organisation (ICO)’s Coffee Market Report for November.
The total volume of exports from Africa was 958,055 bags, says the report. But in comparison with the same month in the previous year, Arabica exports from Uganda fell 30 percent to 75,501 bags, while Robusta exports rose by 24.6 percent to 302,737 bags.
Exports of Arabica from Uganda have declined for most of 2019, dropping 16.6 percent in the first ten months compared to the same period in 2018. However, the increase in Robusta exports have more than offset the fall, and as a result total exports from the country increased 7.4 percent for the same period. The Uganda Coffee Development Authority attributed this increase to good main and secondary harvests on account of favourable weather in 2019.
Meanwhile, global exports in October 2019 totalled 8.91 million bags, their lowest monthly level since September 2017. According to the report, this represents a drop of 13.4 percent compared to the same period in the previous year, and of 2.4 percent compared to October 2017.
Shipments of Robust as fell 21.6 percent to 2.82 million bags and Arabicas fell 9 percent to 6.08 million bags. Other Mild Arabicas saw the largest decline, falling 23.2 percent to 1.33 million bags, while Brazilian Naturals fell 9.5 percent to 3.44 million bags. Colombian Milds, conversely, saw an increase of 13.5 percent to 1.31 million bags compared to October 2018.
The depreciation of the Colombian Peso against the US Dollar for much of 2019 could be a contributing factor for higher shipments of Colombian Milds, the report says.
Exports from South America amounted to 5.29 million bags in October 2019, led by 3.42 million bags from Brazil. Brazil’s exports—which accounted for 38.4 percent of the total coffee exports in October 2019— fell 12.9 percent compared to October 2018, owing to its smaller 2019/20 off-year crop.
Despite the monthly fall in shipments compared to 2018, the report says Brazil’s export total to date for its 2019/20 crop year is at a record level of 23.62 million bags. This is 7.2 percent greater than its next highest level of 22.04 million bags, reached in April–October 2014.
