Happy Holidays from Wolthers America

Good day coffee friends,

After a short absence, here I’m again with some news from the coffee front. Just back from a trip to Guatemala and Dubai, both coffee related and both with very interesting news.

In Guatemala, it became quite clear that the country faces the effects of a late harvest or even worse, a smaller production. While some shippers talk about a late harvest, many producers and a few shippers are convinced that the early flowering for this crop never fixed, winds and torrential rains at the time eliminated those flowers and early fruits.

I also noticed that up to 60% of the crop may be sold already. Producers are now holding back on sales as they prefer to have a better idea of their final productivity.

Another fundamental factor is the local currency. The Quetzal has not devalued against the now strong US Dollar. As NY/C has lost some 30% in the last couple of months, the internal revenue for producers against the historic Guatemalan differentials is strongly down. Some say far under production prices.

Sky high Colombian differentials are also driving many roasters to substitute with Other Mild coffees pushing prices up and making local shippers even more reluctant to place coffees on offer for the nearby positions.

In my opinion, if we don’t see internal prices in Guatemala ease due to the new fiscal year by end January, fasten your seatbelts as this will be a rough and expensive ride until the end of this crop cycle.

From Dubai I bring good news for the coffee Industry. Most of the many known and unknown coffee shops are packed with local and foreign coffee thirsty consumers.

It’s quite impressive to notice how many American, European and local Coffee Shop brands are competing in that marked. The traditional “Arabian” coffee preparation is loosing by miles to the contemporary espresso based preparations.

Although tourism has been down by about 30%, the remaining tourists and the local population are supporting strongly the new sophisticated coffee environment.

If your going to Dubai, no need to bring your preferred roasted beans in the bag. Dubai coffee shops have them all and will probably add one or two new blends or origins to your list.

On another note, Hawaii/Kona has produced another great quality crop. At least from the Parry Estate, Extra fancy’s are almost 45% after preparation and Fancy’s 16 – 18 represent about 50%.

Take a look at our offer list below and see what we have arriving into Oakland/CA from the Parry Estate in Kona.

For now, we, at the Wolthers Group of Companies in USA, Guatemala, Colombia and Brazil, wish you “Very Happy Holydays!!!”

Christian Wolthers.
Wolthers America Inc.

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