Asia poised for bigger coffee output

Asia poised for bigger coffee output

SINGAPORE (AFP): Asia's share of global coffee supplies should
increase substantially following upbeat production forecasts
yesterday by leading producers Indonesia and Vietnam at a
regional coffee conference here, officials said.

Asian producers, who control 17 percent of world coffee
supplies, already account for about 45 percent of robusta coffee
output and more than five percent of arabica coffee production,
they said.

"Asia's market share of global production is expected to reach
20 percent by the end of the century," Paul Moeller, president of
Volcafe Ltd., a Swiss coffee importer, told the first Asian
international coffee conference.

Moeller told about 200 officials attending the conference that
Asia's production share for the robusta type of coffee could
reach 60 percent by 2000 from 50 percent currently.

Africa's robusta coffee production has declined from about
740,000 tons in 1988 to a low of 480,000 tons in 1993, while
Asia's share for such coffee increased from 684,000 tons in 1988
to 780,000 tons in 1993, officials said.

Brazil, the world's largest arabica coffee producer, was hit
by unexpected frosts damaging much of its coffee crop. Lack of
rain and excessive dryness on already frost damaged trees have
hurt the production further, they said.

Indonesia

Indonesia, Asia's number one coffee producer, was tipped to
increase production by 2.76 percent per annum from 457,300 tons
in 1994 to 519,200 tons in 1998, said Paian Nainggolan, a senior
Indonesian government official.

Indonesia is the third largest producer and exporter of coffee
after Brazil and Colombia. It is also the world's largest
producer and exporter of robusta coffee.

Paian, who is head of research and development in Indonesia's
Trade Ministry, said Indonesia's areas for coffee plantation were
projected to grow by 2.53 percent per year from some 1.16 million
hectares (2.86 million acres) in 1994 to 1.28 million hectares in
1998.

Vietnam, now with the world's highest average yield coffee per
hectare, was expected to increase annual production from 175,000
tons currently to 200,000 tons, officials said. Some 140,000
hectares are planted with coffee in Vietnam at present.

"The target of 200,000 hectares of coffee with more than
200,000 tons of coffee beans (in exports) will be reached by the
beginning of the next century," Ngo The Dan, Vietnam's deputy
agriculture and food industry minister, told the conference.

Vietnam was also planning to expand Arabica coffee planting in
its northern mountainous areas where soil and climatic conditions
were suitable for such cultivation, he said.

Officials said that, on average, coffee suppliers in the Asian
region produce both arabica and robusta coffee at a cost of about
five percent below the averages in other regions.

The three-day conference is being held ahead of Singapore's
launching of the Robusta Standard Grade futures contract in mid-
February to serve Asia's growing market for the commodity and
allow traders to hedge prices within the region's time zones.

At present, international futures trading in coffee, the
second biggest financially traded commodity after oil, is offered
only on the London and New York commodity exchanges.

Foreign coffee traders said introduction of the contract in
Singapore was appropriate in view of Asia's growing robusta
production potential.