Coffee earnings fall 48%

Source: The National, Thursday, February 14, 2013

 

LAST year’s coffee export earnings plunged a massive K448 million, or 48.4%, from the previous year’s figure of K926 million, the Coffee Industry Corporation said yesterday.
Actual export receipts were only K478 million last year.
“Provisional production figures for last year totalled 808,458 bags, which is equivalent to 48,508 tonnes,”  CIC said
“It is estimated that the final production figure should be around 1.02 million bags, 30% lower than the 2011 historical production level of 1.4 million bags.”
However, CIC chief executive officer Navi Anis said that the proportion of free on board (FOB) prices received by growers last year averaged 61%, which was 1% higher than that of 2011.
“The low export earnings reflected the low export volumes and subsequent downward correction of export prices observed throughout the 2012 calendar year,” he said.
“Despite, a strong export performance observed in the first quarter of last year due to high carry-over stocks from 2011, actual coffee production during the year could not sufficiently prop exports ahead due to low volumes of coffee reaching the markets.
“As a result, total export volume dropped by 24% to 55,495 tonnes last year.
“The lower volume was mainly attributed to off-year biennial production cycle as well as election-related activities that disrupted farmers to bring coffee out onto the markets.
“Nonetheless, 2013 is an on-year for PNG in its biennial cycle of coffee production and is anticipated for a good crop of one million bag mark level.
“Impact projects undertaken by CIC to boost production are coffee rehabilitation, coffee nursery project, coffee freight scheme and grower mobilisation.”