Brazil crop decline will cut global output

Global coffee production in the 2011-2012 marketing year will fall 2.1 per cent as the crop declines in Brazil, the world\'s leading grower, the US Department of Agriculture said. Worldwide output will drop to 135 million bags from 137.9 million a year earlier, the USDA said today in a report on its website. A bag weighs 60kg. Output in Brazil will decline 9.7 per cent to 49.2 million bags as trees enter the less-productive phase of a biennial cycle, the USDA said. Annual global consumption will rise 1.1 per cent to 133.957 million bags, the USDA said. Demand in the US will climb 0.8 per cent to 24.15 million bags. On May 3, arabica-coffee futures in New York rose to $3.089 (Dh11.34) a pound, the highest in almost 14 years, after rains damaged crops in Colombia. Prices have fallen 19 per cent since then as supply concerns waned. Coffee for September delivery gained 1.8 cents, or 0.7 per cent, to settle at $2.505 Friday on ICE Futures US. The commodity has increased 48 per cent in the past year. Arabica is grown mainly in Latin America and brewed by specialty companies including Starbucks. Robusta beans, used in instant coffee, are harvested mostly in Asia and parts of Africa. From / Gulf News