World coffee production could fall in the 2023/2024 season

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global coffee production will likely be lower than expected in the 2023/24 season, which begins in October and ends in September next year, but a drop in demand - especially in Europe - will prevent a supply deficit, Rabobank Research said in a note on Tuesday. The Dutch bank, which has a strong presence in agricultural financing, projected 2023/24 global coffee production at 172.6 million bags, a drop of 1.6 million bags from its previous forecast, due to the downward revisions mainly for the production of Colombia and Vietnam. The forecast for Colombia's harvest was reduced from 13.6 million bags to 12.5 million, and that of Vietnam to 29 million, half a million less than expected. Both countries are facing unfavorable weather conditions. Rabobank, however, maintained its estimate of a balanced global supply in 2023/24, citing falling demand in non-producing countries. "Import demand figures were very dismal in the second quarter of 2023," the report noted, ...