By Nelson Mandela Muhoozi
Reports from the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) show that the ongoing El Niño weather phenomenon is negatively affecting the harvest of Robusta coffee in Vietnam, the world’s largest Robusta producer, for the Coffee Year 2024/25.
The new crop, which is slowly being harvested, has faced delays due to drier-than-expected weather conditions.
As a result, the January position on Robusta coffee futures closed at $4,778 (about sh17.48m) per ton, losing $65 (about sh237,835) from the previous trading day. Similarly, the March position dropped to $4,638 (about sh16.979m) per ton, a decline of $63 (about sh230,517).
Meanwhile, the International Commodity Exchange (ICE) reported that Arabica coffee futures experienced moderate losses on Tuesday due to an improved weather forecast in Brazil, another major coffee-producing country.
Meteorologists predicted that Brazil’s coffee-growing regions would receive more rainfall starting this weekend, contributing to long liquidation pressures in the market.
On the ICE, the December position for Arabica coffee closed at sh9,544.83 per pound (US cents 256.70), losing sh199.06 (5.35 US cents), while the March position fell to sh9,498.40 per pound (US cents 255.50), losing sh188.12 (5.05 US cents) compared to the previous closing.
Uganda’s coffee market overview
On the domestic front, the Uganda Coffee Development Authority’s (UCDA) report for October 16, 2024, highlighted stable prices for both Robusta and Arabica coffee.
Robusta Screen 15 sold for sh18,398 per kilogram (about $4.91), with a total volume of 3,840 60kg bags being traded. Drugar Arabica coffee fetched sh18,610 per kilogram (about $4.97) at volumes of 320 60kg bags.
Local farm gate prices
The UCDA report also indicated stable farm gate prices across Uganda. Fair Average Quality (FAQ) coffee was priced between sh12,500 and sh13,200 per kilogram ($3.33–$3.51), while Kiboko coffee fetched between sh6,200 and sh7,000 per kilogram ($1.65–$1.87).
Arabica parchment prices ranged from sh12,000 to sh12,500 per kilogram ($3.20–$3.33), while clean Drugar coffee was sold for between sh11,500 and sh12,000 per kilogram ($3.06–$3.20).
