In March 2019, the International Coffee Organization (ICO) composite indicator fell by 3.1% to 97.50 US cents/lb, which is the lowest monthly average since October 2006 when the price was 95.53 US cents/lb. Prices for all group indicators fell in March 2019, with Brazilian Naturals registering a decrease of 4.2% to 95.81 US cents/lb, the largest among the four group indicators. Shipments in the first five months of coffee year 2018/19 increased by 6.2% to 52.27 million bags, reflecting the ample supply of coffee on the international market. Shipments of Brazilian Naturals rose by 20.4% to 18.65 million bags, and Colombian Milds grew by 7.7% to 6.63 million bags. World production in coffee year 2018/19 is estimated at 168.05 million bags while consumption is estimated at 164.99 million bags, creating a surplus of 3.06 million bags. This follows a surplus of 4.16 million bags in coffee year 2017/18.
The monthly average of the ICO composite indicator fell by 3.1% to 97.50 US cents/lb in March 2019. This is the lowest monthly average since October 2006 when the price was 95.53 US cents/lb. The daily composite indicator generally declined over the month, starting at a high of 99.61 US cents/lb 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 Mar-17 Jun-17 Sep-17 Dec-17 Mar-18 Jun-18 Sep-18 Dec-18 Mar-19 US cents/lb Figure 1: ICO composite indicator daily prices © 2019 International Coffee Organization (www.ico.org) 2 Coffee Market Report – March 2019 on 1 March 2019 and reaching a low of 96.23 US cents/lb on 22 March 2019. Prospects of a large offyear crop from Brazil for crop year 2019/20 and increased exports in each month of 2018/19 compared to the previous year are contributing to the sustained low prices this coffee year.
