Ethiopian coffee production estimated to fall 18%
Tanzanian Coffee Board said today that the country’s coffee output may fall 20 percent in the 
year through June 2012 following a drought stunted growth.
Production may fall to 45,000 metric tons from 56,247 tons in the 2010-11 season, Adolph Kumburu, director general of the board, said.
Tanzania was hit by drought in the second half of 2010 and in the first six months of this year, according to the board.Similarly, the International Coffee Organization (ICO) said Tuesday that coffee output in Ethiopia might drop by 18 percent in the 2011-12 crop year as a result of a smaller crop in the country.
Output in Ethiopia is expected to fall to 14.4 million bags the coming season from 17.5 million bags in the 2010-11 crop year. The ICO attributed the drop in production to poorer performance in the country.
According to the organizations estimate, world output will drop to 130 million bags from 133.3 million bags in 2010-11. Arabica bean output is going to drop by 6.2 percent to 78.3 million bags, while the robusta crop will rise by 3.9 percent to 51.7 million bags, the ICO estimated.
Tanzania follows Ethiopia, Uganda and the Ivory Coast among Africa’s coffee producers, according to the ICO.
Source: Bloomberg
