Share your coffee stories with us by writing to info@comunicaffe.com.
MILAN – Cristina Scocchia, CEO of illycaffè, expects coffee futures prices to extend drop from the record highs reached earlier this year. illy expects prices for green coffee to stabilize at $2.50 to $3 a pound over the next 15 months. Arabica production forecasts in top exporter Brazil are strong, putting some downward pressure on prices in the short term, she added.
“It’s been a difficult time for the coffee market,” Scocchia said in a phone interview with Bloomberg. With prices still more than double what they were four years ago, “there is a huge pressure on the margins.”
The company absorbed most of that cost increase, raising prices only by 8% to 10% across its product range this year, Scocchia pointed out.
While illy’s sales volumes remained substantially stable – also thanks to these moderate price increases – the broader market has witnessed some demand slowdown, with overall sales in Italy falling 1.5% and in the US lower by 2% so far this year, according to Scocchia.
The markets seem to agree with Scocchia. Yesterday, Wednesday 18 June, Arabica and Robusta futures fell to new lows.
In New York, ICE Arabica contract for September delivery suffered its third consecutive decline, closing at 322.30 cents — the lowest price since 21 January — down 3.1% from the previous session.
Over the first three days of the week, the benchmark lost 6.8% of its value.
In London, September ICE robusta coffee futures fell by 6.4 per cent, plunging to $3,891 — its lowest level since 23 May 2024. The last time Robusta futures closed below $4,000 was on 18 June 2024, when the benchmark settled at $3,994.
The progress of the Brazilian harvest with the new crop hitting the market contribute to keeping the two markets under pressure.
In other news, Cooxupe – Brazil’s largest coffee cooperative and exporter – announced Wednesday that its members reported the coffee harvest was 17.8% complete as of June 13.
