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REUTERS & AGENCIES
US coffee roastings lower: For the week ended September 5, 1998, US coffee roastings totalled approximately 325,000 60-kg bags, down from 330,000 the previous week, and compared with 320,000 bags in the corresponding week one year ago. Cumulative roastings totalled 11,645,000 60-kg bags, versus11,780,000 bags in the same year ago period.
Asian rubber prices to go up: Rubber prices may inch up further this week after recent intervention by the International Natural Rubber Organisation (INRO), but Asian traders said major gains were not in sight amid slack regional demand. INRO, which groups major rubber producers and consumers, bought in Malaysia, Indonesia and London last week after the average price fell below INRO's must-buy level. INRO calculates rubber prices in an artificial currency with a value between the Malaysian cent and the Singapore cent. INRO sets levels it buys and sells to stabilise the market. The may-buy level is at 183 Malaysian/Singapore cents and must-buy level is at 172cents. The average was quoted at 170.94 cents on September 10. It was not clear how much INRO bought but one Japanese broker estimated as much as 15,000 tonnes.
Liffe coffee to resume uptrend: Liffe coffee needs to close above the peak of last week's rally to signal that it is resuming its recent uptrend, technical analysts said. Traders called it to open $15 lower. Susan Rigg, technical analyst at Chart Analysis, said November coffee needed to close above $1,703 (per tonne), the peak it reached on September 9 after a four-week rally, to show it was resuming the uptrend. It has plunged to $1,600 in three days trading since then. Rigg said coffee had good support between $1,550 and $1,600 but if it went through that it would then be looking again at $1,500, its late July trough.
Tobacco settlement suit dismissed: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota said last week a district court dismissed a class-action suit that seeking to compel Blue Cross to give a $469 million settlement from atobacco trial directly to its 1.8 million policy holders. The lawsuit were filed shortly after Blue Cross announced its settlement with tobacco companies on May 8. Blue Cross was the first private-sector health plan in the country to sue the tobacco companies. It is the only private-sector health plan to have recovered damages it claimed for treatment costs of smoking-related illness. "The judge's order to dismiss confirms our belief that the lawsuits were without merit," said Andy Czajkowski, Chief executive of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
Rubber Board to improve TSR quality: The Rubber Board, an arm of the commerce ministry, is trying to improve the quality of technically specified rubber (TSR) in an effort to help rubber growers fetch better prices for the commodity, Board chairman KJ Mathew said last week. "We are trying to improve tsr quality to make it at par with international quality. There should be no problem in its marketing as a number of tyre units are prepared to use them,"Mathew, who was here on an official visit recently, said. Once the quality improves and tyre units begin using it widely, TSR demand is expected to increase sharply, he said. A number of units are now in a position to produce strand they could be encouraged to meet the specification if the prices improved. "A universally specified standard in TSR can be achieved by improving the quality," Mathew said.
Rubber demand to rise: Despite the present surplus availability of natural rubber (NR) in the country, its long term prospects were indicative of a widening deficit situation of 2,40,000 tonnes by the year 2010. There would be a wide gap in the demand and supply from the year 2005 onwards, assuming an annual growth of eight per cent in auto-tyre and tube sector and six per cent in other sectors, according to tentative forecast made by the Rubber Board. The assumed growth, thereafter, would be seven per cent in auto-tyre and tube sector and five per cent in non-tyre sector, it said. It was expected thatNR demand by the year 2005-06 would be around 9,15,000 tonnes as against the projected production of 8,11,000 tonnes, while it would rise to 11,70,000 tonnes in 2010-11 against the anticipated production of 9,30,000 tonnes, leaving a huge deficit of 2,40,000 tonnes.
Russian crisis affects Brazilian coffee: Brazilian coffee exporters will work on new marketing strategies in order to cope with Russia's financial turmoil, the Brazilian Instant Coffee Industry Association said last week. Russia is the world's largest importer of Brazilian instant coffee and its financial turmoil will affect Brazil's exports, explained association chief Mauro Malta. "The question is to what degree." Coffee industry members will meet as soon as Russia's markets indicate where they are heading, Malta said. The industry's problems -- already great before the crisis -- will now worsen, Malta explained. Export figures between January and June were the worst ones in six years, Malta said. Within a year, Brazil exports droppedby 19.37 per cent in volume and 12.7 percent in sales.
China to plant US grapes: China is planning a mass planting of the US "Red Globe" grape in a bid to cut down on grape imports which cost 723 million dollars last year, Xinhua reported last week. The six-year scheme to establish a "Red Globe" grape production centre in northwestern Shaanxi province is expected to cost 800 million yuan (96 million dollars). The "Red Globe" variety is currently planted on only 600 hectares of China's 16,600 hectares of grape plantations, but is highly prized in the nation as it is more robust that Chinese varieties, allowing ease in transportation to major urban areas.
Indonesian rubber falls: The Indonesian rubber market remained subdued last week due to the absence of fresh market intervention by the International Natural Rubber Organisation (INRO), traders said. "INRO has abandoned the market, but I think this is will be temporary. There were numerous offers in the market but buyers showed no interest atall," said one trader in Jakarta. Traders said November tyre-grade SIR20 was being offered at 25.50 US Cents/lb fob Palembang, Surabaya and Medan. October rubber was being offered in those cities at 25.50, December at 26.00 and January and 26.75. Traders said INRO had bought around 8,000 tonnes of rubber from Indonesia since last Tuesday for November shipment.
Polish coffee use may double: Polish coffee consumption is likely to double over the next decade, the country's coffee traders said last week. "We will reach an average European level (4-5 kilograms perpers on) within the next decade," Jaroslaw Kowalski, president of coffee importer United Business, told Reuters. He said rising wages made coffee increasingly affordable to Poles, who now annually consume about 2.5 kilograms of coffee per person, against Germany's six to eight kilograms and as much as 13 in Scandinavian countries. Philip Price, president of coffee trader Tchibo Warszawa,which leads the market with a 22-percent share, agreed thatPoland should reach that level of consumption within a few years, but declined to give a more precise estimate.
Kenya coffee exports to plunge: Kenyan coffee exports reached 114,000 tonnes in 1995/96, which included both production for that season and carryover stocks from the previous year. Traders said last week that, given the small amount of coffee for sale this year, they expected no carryover stocks for 1998/99. They said production could reach a maximum of 60,000 tonnes, far below the board's projection of 70,000-80,000 tonnes. "Our projections reflect both data from the Kenya Coffee Auctions, where sales are made, and industry players. The figures from the board appears to be wishful thinking," one trader said. "The coffee sector is in a bad state and it is alright if these facts are known. Production is low and exports are low, we cannot gain anything by making farmers expect far greater returns," a trader said.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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