The volume of coffee supplied at the Moshi auction increased almost three times to 25,496 bags at the end of August from the previous trading session’s 8,230 bags.
The auction results posted by Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB) shows that the amount of coffee procured declined slightly by 6.55 per cent to 23,825 bags compared to 25,496 bags supplied.
The overall average price at the auction was down by 3.41 US dollars (about 5,500/-) per 50 Kilogrammes for Mild Arabica and Robusta were down by 5.15 US dollars (over 8,000/-) per 50 Kgs compared to the last auction held on August 22, this year.
Average prices were above the terminal market by 11.55 US dollars (18,480/-) per 50 Kgs for Mild Arabica and Robusta were above the terminal market by 17.41 dollars per 50 Kgs (27,856/-).
The New York December delivery were up by 0.40 cents US dollar (640/-), equivalent to 0.44 US dollars (about 704/-) for a 50 kgs bag Free on Board (FOB).
The November delivery for the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) market were down by 78 US dollars (about 124,800/-) per metric tonnes equivalent to 3.90 US dollars (6,240/-) for a 50 kgs FOB compared to previous week terminal market.
Prices for the locally produced coffee continue to be volatile due to competitions exerted by large scale producers in the international market leading to reduced farmers’ earnings.
The bumper coffee harvests in Brazil and Columbia has been posing threats to the local producers as the market will be over supplied.
Apart from farmers’ earnings, country revenues have been also affected. Statistics show that coffee accounts for about 20 per cent of Tanzania’s foreign exchange earnings and has been the mainstay of the country’s agriculture-based economy since its introduction as a cash crop around 100 years ago.
Tanzania, Africa’s fourth-largest coffee producer after Ethiopia, Uganda and Ivory Coast, produces mainly Arabica and some robusta coffee.