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MILAN – A revolution in Arabica coffee futures: the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced in a statement later last week that from March 2028 the current ‘C’ contract would be discontinued and replaced by a new system quoting in dollars per metric ton.
ICE also said the new contract would allow for coffee to be stored in flexible intermediate bulk containers, commonly known in the market as big bags, which usually can carry around 1 metric tonne of product.
The March 2028 contract will be the final one under the current format. When that expires, around March 2028, all contracts will be quoted in dollars per metric tonne.
According to analysts, the old system was a relic of the 1960s—a time when manual labour and smaller-scale storage were the norm – and the shift to metric tons is driven by the rise of Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (FIBCs), or “big bags,” with the 1-ton containers dominating modern coffee logistics and replacing traditional 60-kg jute bags.
Below is the press release issued by Exchange:
Effective immediately, ICE Futures U.S. (“the Exchange”) will pause the listing of new contract months in the Coffee “C” futures and regular Monthly option contracts. Consequently, the March 2028 Coffee “C” contract (contract symbol KC) will be the final expiry month for this futures contract and for the Monthly option contract.
For the Coffee “C” Serial option contracts (contract symbol KC), the February 2028 option (which has the March 2028 future as its underlying futures contract) will be the last Serial option expiry month. Serial option contract months will continue to be listed for trading based on the regular listing schedule for these contracts up to and including the February 2028 expiry.
For the Coffee “C” Weekly options (contract symbol KCW), the contract expiring on Friday, February 4, 2028 (which has the March 2028 future as its underlying futures contract) will be the last Weekly option expiry. Weekly option contracts will continue to be listed for trading based on the regular listing schedule for these contracts up to and including that expiry week.
Finally, for the Coffee “C” 1 Month CSO contract (contract symbol KC1) the last listed contract month will be the December 2027 expiry, and for the Coffee “C” 2 Month CSO contract (contract symbol KC2) the last listed contract month will be the September 2027 expiry. For each of these contracts, the March 2028 futures contract is the second month in the CSO contract’s relevant spread pair. New CSO contracts will continue to be listed for trading based on the regular listing schedule for these contracts up to and including the last expiries for each stated above.
The Exchange plans to introduce new Arabica Coffee futures and options contracts that are priced in Metric Tons later this year. Additionally, the new futures contract will allow for coffee to be stored in Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers (commonly referred to as “FIBC’s”). Full specifications and the listing date for the new futures and options contracts will be announced when determined.
