In November 2021, coffee prices reached new multi-year highs, as the monthly average of the International Coffee Organization (ICO) composite indicator price reached 195.17 US cents per pound, an increase of 7.5 per cent as compared to 181.57 US cents per pound in October 2021.
The ICO says price levels during coffee year 2021/22 mark a significant and steady recovery from the low levels experienced over the four preceding coffee years.
Since November 2020, where the ICO Composite Indicator was priced at 109.70 US cents per pound, an increase of 77.9 per cent has been recorded.
Moreover, the ICO says the average price of November 2021 is the highest it has been in a decade, since reaching 193.90 US cents per pound in October 2011.
The monthly average for September 2011 was 213.04 US cents per pound. The ICO says the steady upward trend observed since the start of coffee year 2020/21 shows how the recovery of coffee prices, after four consecutive years of low-price levels, reflects a dramatic change in overall market conditions.
As coffee prices continued to increase, intra-day volatility in November 2021 of the ICO composite indicator price increased by 1.2 percentage points to 9.5 per cent in November 2021.
Estimates of total production for coffee year 2020/21 remain unchanged at 169.64 million 60-kilogram bags. On the other hand, world coffee consumption is assessed marginally up in volume, now estimated to have increased to 167.67 million bags in 2020/21 as compared to 164.53 million bags for coffee year 2019/20. The ICO says the gap in production-consumption is therefore reducing to 1.97 million bags.
Exports of all forms of coffee in October 2021 totalled 9.68 million bags, down 4.4 per cent as compared to 10.13 million bags in October 2020. In terms of regional performance during the first month of coffee year 2021/22, exports of South America decreased by 20.6 per cent to 4.94 million bags as compared to 6.22 million bags in October 2020/21.
Exports of Asia and Oceania over the first month of coffee year 2021/22 increased by 25.8 per cent from 2.49 million bags to 3.13 million bags in October 2021/22. Central America and Mexico shipments during the first month of coffee year 2021/22 increased by 35.0 per cent to 0.53 million bags, as compared to 0.40 million bags over the same period during coffee year 2020/21. Africa recorded an increase in export by 5.1 per cent to 1.1 million bags in October 2021 as compared to 1.0 million bags in October 2020.