Global harvesting calendars are a wonderful resource for coffee buyers. Harvest calendars help identify the span of an origin’s harvesting period along with typical shipping and delivery months. With little sign of relief from the continued logistical pains experienced in 2021, gaining further insight on how green coffee buyers can plan during pre-harvest activities could be the next chapter for traditional harvesting calendars. Additional information on when and how to secure contracts for a coming harvest season could help improve sufficient inventories along with timely arrivals to help save on carrying costs or last-minute spot purchases.
To prepare for the coming year, Eleva Finca has drafted a calendar focusing specifically on the ’22 Peru harvest, incorporating additional periods of activities. The traditional harvest and shipping calendar periods are further split into four periods: contract, sampling, shipment, and delivery.As with most coffee-growing regions, the timeline of these activities will vary depending on the type of coffee being purchased. If a buyer seeks early arrivals from Peru from lower elevations, the contracts, sampling, shipping, and delivery periods will begin much sooner. Higher elevations are harvested months later, as will be the shipping and delivery of this coffee. Regardless of the type or quality of coffee being purchased, discussing contracts ahead of time while diligently following up with type, offer, and pre-shipment approval samples will help expedite coffee deliveries through an already sluggish and complicated global supply chain situation.
The above calendar must be taken with some flexibility, as there are many factors that can suddenly change expectations and delivery times, as we all have witnessed in the past few years. We cannot overlook the impact a volatile market price might have on the slowing or expediting of delivery of coffee parchment to cooperatives or dry mills. As we near the beginning of the harvest in Peru this year, we can learn from the past and ensure we are prepared for what is ahead.
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