The first week of each month throughout 2022, our blog will highlight suggested action items and reminders for green-coffee buyers to successfully contract their desired volumes, qualities, and delivery times for the Peruvian harvest season.
During the month of June, early crop shipments traditionally were found to already be in transit for arrival to domestic ports. Offer samples for July shipments become more available. This is the best time to secure contracts for shipment in late July through August. These shipments should be expected for domestic port arrival by October or possibly even early November.
A Growing Scarcity of Coffee
The coffee harvesting season is in full swing throughout the middle elevation zones of Peru. Coffee operations throughout the region have been met with concerns given the rapidly rising costs of production which has led to a noticeable growth in the scarcity of coffee being delivered to cooperatives and other receiving stations.
Cost of Fertilizer
The cost of fertilizer has significantly increased, and some farmers have adapted to this inflation by reducing the amount of application used in the field. This can become problematic for coffee plants which require the necessary nitrogen and other micronutrients for proper fruit development. Some organizations have made concerted efforts to help provide and develop organic fertilizers as a replacement strategy.
Heavy Rains
In addition, seasonal rains have damaged many of the roads which connect coffee farms to the cooperatives and other receiving stations. Continual rainy weather brings cloud cover, and with this comes the added challenges of proper and timely drying of coffee parchment.
Contracts
The general concern with many cooperatives and producers is the rising cost of domestic prices for coffee production. The market price found on the street has been volatile, and although the NY C market price jumped from $2.12 to nearly $2.30 in the last week of May, these prices barely compensate for the rising internal production costs.
There are many factors that contribute to the growing scarcity of coffee being delivered to mills. Although many cooperatives and associations are still offering to fill coffee contracts for the coming harvest, the opportunity to secure these contracts will be limited and sooner than normally expected.
For an overview of the entire annual calendar of activities, download here.