Coffee
Robusta coffee prices in Vietnam, the world’s largest producer of the variety, dropped to 37,800 dong ($1.79) per kg,
extending earlier falls which could hurt domestic trading. The country’s coffee export this August is forecast at 70,000-80,000 tons, down from 90,700 tons in July this year. Robusta coffee stockpiles are poised to slump to a 13-year low as torrential rain in Indonesia disrupts supply and consumers wait three more months before Vietnam’s new crop gets shipped. Rain in the largest growing regions of Indonesia, the biggest producer behind Vietnam and Brazil, was as much as twice the 30-year average since April this year.
The coffee industry support outlined by Brazil’s government may mop up high quality beans for which supplies are
already relatively tight. Brazilian growers are awaiting details of the operation of a government programme which will, through options, guarantee 343 reals ($149) per 60-kilogramme bag of coffee to growers. This comes as a boon to many who face financial hardship because of depressed market prices.
Corn
With the U.S. harvest of corn, the nation’s biggest crop and the source of most of its ethanol, expected to set a record this year, ethanol producers don’t see sugar as a competitive substitute. The price of corn has plunged 43 percent since reaching a record $8.49 a bushel during last year’s U.S. drought. The government said this month that farmers will boost production by 28 percent to an all-time high of 13.763 billion bushels.