Member countries of the International Coffee Organization (ICO), which is the main intergovernmental body dealing with global coffee issues, have elected Brazilian farmer Vanusia Nogueira as the new executive director, the first woman to lead the organisation.
Pressure Building
The change at the ICO happens as pressure is building in the global coffee industry as well as in other food processing sectors such as cocoa for a more sustainable and fair environment, particularly regarding farmers.
Coffee farmers around the world have been under pressure in recent years due to insufficient financial return from the activity, which has caused the abandonment of farms in places such as Central America, boosting illegal immigration flows to the United States.
Prices
But prices rose to a 10-year peak in recent weeks after harsh weather hurt production in top grower Brazil last year.
Predecessor
Nogueira will replace another Brazilian, Jose Dauster Sette, who was at the helm of the organization since 2017.
Statements By Nogueira
She said in a statement that she is aware of the challenges facing the industry.
"We will seek sector coordination to work on priority issues such as prosperous incomes and well-being to cover costs and enable a decent life for producers," she said, "expand market transparency, propose and implement global policies and financing mechanisms, and generate focus on sustainable production and supply as well as responsible consumption."
Norgueira Background
Nogueira comes from a traditional coffee-producing family in Brazil and has previously headed the country's specialty coffee association. She was also among the organisers of the not-for-profit World Coffee Producers Forum (WCPF).
Coffee Slips After Fresh 10-Year Peak; Cocoa At Two-Year High
The above news was followed by news that arabica coffee prices on ICE slipped on Thursday 10 February after touching fresh 10-year highs in the session, as exchange-certified stocks touched new 20-year lows and were set to fall below the key one-million-bags mark.
Cocoa futures hit the highest price in two years.
Coffee
* May arabica coffee fell 3.2 cents, or 1.2%, to $2.5525 per lb after hitting $2.6045, its highest since September 2011.
* Arabica prices will end the year 5% below current levels as the market moves into balance next season from the current wide deficit that has pushed prices to 10-year highs, a Reuters poll of 10 traders and analysts showed.
* Certified ICE arabica stocks <KC-TOT-TOT> fell to fresh 20-year lows of 1.03 million bags on Thursday 10 February, down sharply from 1.54 million bags at the end of 2021.
* Coffee farmers in Brazil had sold 86% of the 2021/22 crop by Feb. 8, outpacing the historical average of about 80%, consultancy Safras & Mercado said.
* May robusta coffee rose $4, or 0.2%, at $2,263 a tonne.
* Top producer Vietnam exported 163,324 tonnes of coffee in January, down 3.6% from December.
Sugar
* March raw sugar fell 0.18 cent, or 1.0%, to 18.30 cents per lb, under pressure from renewed inflation worries that boosted the dollar.
* A strong dollar makes dollar-priced assets like sugar costlier for non-US investors.
* Dealers noted Indian sugar exports are ticking up and that with a small surplus seen for 2022/23, the upside is likely limited at the moment.
* France's farm ministry said it sees the area sown with sugar beet for the 2022 harvest as stable to down 3%.
* March white sugar, which expires on Friday 11 February, rose $7.20, or 1.4%, to $510.40 a tonne.
Cocoa
* May New York cocoa rose $32, or 1.1%, to $2,833 a tonne, having hit its highest in two years at $2,838.
* May London cocoa gained £9, or 0.5%, at £1,857 per tonne, having hit its highest in nearly four months at 1,859.
* "Some producers in West Africa are worried about the dry weather that has been noted for the last couple of weeks. And ideas are that demand will continue to improve," analyst Jack Scoville from The Price Futures Group said.
News by Reuters, edited by Hospitality Ireland. Click subscribe to sign up for the Hospitality Ireland print edition.
