Commodity Conversations Weekly Press Summary

The spread of the coronavirus is shining a spotlight on the weakest links in the global food supply chain. This could have long-term implications on how we feed ourselves. Most dramatically, some people are facing a heightened risk of famine. The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) warned in a new report that “we could be facing multiple famines of biblical proportions within a short few months,” because of the virus. The head of the WFP remained optimistic, however, saying this could be avoided by acting quickly and wisely. 

The alarming number of Covid-19 cases in US meat packing plants is also highlighting what labour unions are calling long-standing problems in the sector, like worker exploitation. A BBC piece analysed the case of the huge Smithfield meat plant in South Dakota – responsible for 4-5% of the total pork production in the country – which was forced to close after 644 employees contracted the disease. Efforts by the USDA to stabilise the food supply only made things worse. It removed speed limits on a lot of meat plants, forcing employees to work closer together, heightening the contamination risk which could then force the whole plant to close. 

Labour unions see a silver lining, however, as the whole country turns its attention to the previously ignored but essential role of the food worker. For one, companies are accelerating efforts to protect employees. A food union recently announced that JBS agreed to increase wages and reinforce safety precautions. Nevertheless, some argue that companies are offering too little too late – around 12 meat plants in North America are reportedly closed or idled. The situation is similar in Canada where Cargill agreed to slow production to protect employees at an Alberta plant but only after dozens of employees caught the disease. 

These meat packing plants are often located in Midwestern states where the quarantine orders are the weakest. Many Governors of the so-called Corn Belt have refused to issue stay-at-home orders but local officials warn that infection numbers are starting to soar. Despite a growing concern, the head of the USDA reassured that the meat and dairy supply was so far not affected. He added that the agency will support the sector by buying and stocking products. 

For the most part, governments around the world are working hard to make sure the poorest are still able to buy enough food and medicine. However, the informal sector has also been stepping in to help. In Italy, well-known mafia members have been seen distributing food parcels, while armed narco-traffickers in Mexico were traveling across the country to supply the poorest households with food. Some recognised the daughter of El Chapo handing out packages advertising her company “El Chapo 701”. In response, the Mexican President urged the groups to focus on reducing violence instead. 

In Croatia, the government is urging the young and unemployed to consider working in the agricultural sector to help address a labour shortage. The crisis helped “enhance” the importance of the sector, a minister said. The Austrian agriculture minister, meanwhile, asked consumers to help support the livelihoods of local farmers by buying more goods produced in their regions. She also encouraged supermarkets to offer discounts on local products. In the same vein, the British Nature Friendly Farming Network (NFFN) urged people to buy more locally and sustainably produced goods, and to consider working or volunteering on a farm. 

Changing consumer habits are helping rural grocery stores in the US which witnessed a surge in interest as people try to avoid crowded supermarkets. Nevertheless, grocers are worried that the trend will not last, as experts predict that online retailers will benefit the most. Online sales have been a lifesaver for many small coffee shops, although that might not be enough to stop many shops from closing. The Counter even wonders whether “Starbucks will be the last one standing”. Independent coffee operations remain hopeful, however, noting that the 1918 Spanish Flu was followed by the Roaring Twenties, a “transformative” time for coffee. 

Another sign that food is gaining in visibility is that Americans are using most of the USD 1,200 they are receiving from the government to buy groceries. But shoppers are looking at food items differently in these times, as this Quartz survey of 27,244 readers showed. Respondents now prioritise boxed wine and vodka over beer and whiskey, or spam over strawberries. You can see below the difference between the pandemic popularity of some items and their everyday popularity:

Quartz food survey

This summary was produced by ECRUU

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The least trader of the traders

I interviewed Teddy Esteve, the CEO of ECOM Coffee, while he was on Coronavirus lockdown at his home in Mexico. I asked him what was his relationship to the founders of ECOM.

ECOM is a seventh-generation business that started in cotton in Barcelona, Spain, and I’m part of that seventh generation. There are still quite a few of us from that seventh generation involved in the business, from three branches of the family.

I see from your website that ECOM is the number one coffee miller in the world and the number two coffee trader in the world.

Our company started in coffee in 1959 in Brazil. When we started in Mexico, we had a different shareholder structure than the one in Brazil. Today we are one group under a united management with a fantastic understanding of each other, so we work very well together.

Having said that, our Brazilian operations are largely autonomous.  Our people there are excellent, and they know their job better than anyone. They have been in this business for ever, and they just get on with it.

How did the business develop in Central America?

The operation in Mexico had started a few years before I arrived.

ED&F Man had come to us and said, “Hey, you guys know Mexico and we know coffee, so let’s start a joint venture coffee operation in Mexico.” We set up Omnicafé, a 50-50 joint venture; it lost a bundle in the first year.

At the end of the first year, we went to EDF Man and said, “Listen, you guys know coffee, you keep the company.” But they said, “No, no, you know Mexico, you keep it.” In the end, we lost the fight and we kept it! That was 1981.

From then on, we built the business from the ground up. We grew by knowing the business inside out.  It’s a very big advantage when you don’t inherit a business.

Did the acquisition of Cargill Coffee in 2000 boost your business? 

Anyone that buys something from Cargill, well it’s a real “wow!”

We bought Cargill’s coffee operation after Neumann, Volcafé and probably some others turned it down. Cargill was keen to sell it, so we bought it on good terms. The purchase was an important one for us. They had a lot of inventory and Cargill is without doubt the best school there is for commodity trading. We still have excellent ex-Cargill colleagues working with us.

In 2013, you took over Armajaro’s coffee operations. Was that also a boost to your business?

We bought Armajaro for their cocoa business, and it has been the best thing that could ever have happened to our cocoa business. It was a very good deal.

For coffee, it was good in the sense that the purchase included Dorman’s in East Africa. Dorman has a very good operation in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. Armajaro also had some good contracts on their books with roasters.

What is your trading style?

We are very different to our competitors. We are the least trader of the traders and we are the most merchants of the merchants. If you have a scale with a wine merchant at one end and a soybean trader at the other end, I see myself more as a wine merchant than as a soybean trader.

People ask me how they can make more money. By buying cheaper coffee? No, by selling more expensive coffee, not by buying cheaper!

Everyone knows the price of coffee today; they all have a cell phone and access to the internet. We strive to improve the price to the farmer and ourselves by differentiating the product; the more I pay the farmer, the better the supply chain. Cheap coffee does not fit our business model.

Why is the price of coffee so low – is it because Brazil and Vietnam are so efficient?

Brazil sets the price of robusta. Today if you take delivery of the futures market in London you will get only Conilon – Brazilian robusta. Not everyone wants Conilon, so if you have Conilon, the easiest place to go with it is the futures market. So, although Vietnam produces more robusta than Brazil, it is Brazil that sets the futures price because the futures represent Brazils.

Brazil also sets the price of arabica.

Brazil can see yields in excess of 60 bags per hectare versus 5 bags per hectare in Africa. So, Brazil obviously produces a lot at a very cheap price. If a country wants to compete with Brazil, they have to compete on something else other than price. They have to compete on quality. In the long run, nobody can compete with Brazil just on price.

Is the world of coffee pricing broken?

There are currently too many producers who can’t make a living out of coffee. So, yes, in that sense coffee pricing is broken, and it has been broken for a while.

Having said that, there are a lot of companies who pay farmers correctly, and they are not small companies. These are people who know that you cannot live by taking advantage of others.

Two last questions: What is your favourite coffee? And what’s your favourite brewing method?

My favourite coffee is from Kenya: Dorman’s Gourmet Special Reserve. Once you drink this, you can’t drink anything else. It’s like Petrus. If I started to drink Petrus I wouldn’t be able to drink anything else. That’s why I haven’t start drinking Petrus.

I use a French press.

Thank you, Teddy, for your time and input.

© Commodity Conversations ® 2020

This is a short extract of an interview that will be published in my upcoming book Merchants & Roasters – Conversations over Coffee

 

 

Commodity Conversations Weekly Press Summary

The lockdown measures are expected to help a lot of alcoholics overcome their addiction, according to a research centre in Thailand. However, some  are so severely dependent that suddenly stopping drinking could be dangerous. In India, there have even been reports of people committing suicide due to alcohol withdrawal symptoms. So much so that two states are reopening liquor stores, saying that more people are dying from withdrawal than from the coronavirus. In Kerala, the government is issuing “passes” to alcoholics to allow them to buy drinks. The price of alcohol in the black market has surged, as well as break-ins into the closed liquor stores. “How to make alcohol at home” has also become a very popular Internet search in India, according to Google Trend. 

The WHO, however, had to issue a notice clarifying that drinking alcohol would not help against the coronavirus. This was after a major news channel in Iran reported that close to 4,000 people had died from trying to treat the coronavirus by drinking adulterated alcohol. 

We previously talked about the closure of US ethanol plants as a result of the collapse in fuel demand, causing a surplus of corn in the US. The other consequence of the plant closures is that food companies are running out of CO2 for their refrigerators. This could slow down the production of food, notably meat, the Compressed Gas Association said. The price of dried distiller’s grains, an ethanol by-product used in animal feed, has also shot up. Feedlots are stuck between rising costs and a fall in demand following the closure, or slowing, of meat processing plants. 

After idling a meat processing plant in Pennsylvania, Cargill has interrupted production at its egg factory in Minnesota because of a collapse in demand as it mainly catered for the restaurant and food chain markets. The company warned it would also be slowing meat processing in Canada. 

The animal protection agency PETA, upon hearing the news, sent a letter to Cargill urging them to take this opportunity to make vegan products instead. PETA argued that eating meat was responsible for causing the swine flu and the coronavirus epidemics in the first place. However, several scientists interviewed by The Counter pointed out that there was currently no evidence that neither SARS-CoV-2 nor CoVID-19 were foodborne illnesses. However, they warned that the supply chain of wild animals destroyed geographical and ecological barriers which, combined with the proximity to people, facilitated the transmission of diseases. Overcrowding animals is also an issue in animal husbandry, especially with the use of antibiotics. One of the scientists warned that “antibiotic resistant bacteria are globally, perhaps, the most important source of disease emergence.” 

Nestle noted a 50% increase in demand for frozen food products since the coronavirus containment measures started in the US, notably for frozen pizza, as well as a surge in demand for baking products. However, while #quarantinebaking has been trending on social media, supermarkets have been struggling to source retail-size bags of flour. Data from the North American Millers Association showed that, up until the coronavirus crisis, only 4% of the US’ flour production was used by home bakers. 

This could also signal a turnaround in grains consumption which has been falling steadily over the past decade, according to an analysis by The Counter. And while the bigger milling groups have been struggling to adjust to the switch in demand, consumers have turned to local grain suppliers instead. A local farmers’ market in New York City, for instance, reported a 50% increase in the sale of organically grown whole grains, flours, and beans in the Jan-Mar period. 

Ports in Asia are struggling under the growing number of containers that are piling up because the coronavirus measures have significantly slowed down the pace at which the containers can be cleared. Besides, Alphaliner estimated the equivalent of 9% of the world’s container capacity had been idled as of the end of March,, due to low demand. Overall, global trade could fall by up to 32% in 2020 because of the virus, according to the WTO. Exporting countries like Brazil, meanwhile, are struggling to get containers. Maersk said it was taking empty containers there to help deal with the shortage. 

In a bid to streamline domestic logistics, Bunge announced the launch of its trucking app, Vector, which it has been testing since the start of the year. Bunge noted that, in addition to accelerating and simplifying the process, it also significantly reduced contact between people and was therefore a crucial tool in the times of the coronavirus. The group said exports were moving well despite the containment measures. 

Cargill and Agrocorp, with the help of Rabobank, used blockchain technology to settle a USD 12 million wheat shipment from North America to Indonesia. The stakeholders said the technology helped them shorten the trade deal to 5 days, compared to sometimes as much as a month. The platform, dltledgers, has seen USD 3.3 billion in deals traded over the past 18 months. 

Going back to our beverage news, bars in Washington DC have been exceptionally allowed to cater to the takeout market. One of them, called Dirty Water, has been lowering buckets of cocktails from the third floor of the building where it is located. But you can’t beat this Maryland winery which is using dog delivery. 

This summary was produced by ECRUU

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Commodity Conversations Weekly Press Summary

The initial impact of the coronavirus outbreak on demand has pushed down food prices. The FAO reported that its March food price index was down 4.3% when compared to February. The agency said the prospect of an economic recession, combined with the strong US Dollar, pushed down the price of most crops. Experts further argued that food prices will continue to fall, especially for crops used to make biofuels, like sugar and vegetable oils, because of the collapse in oil prices. 

In reality, however, the food industry is not facing an overall drop in demand but rather a shift of how people buy their food. The sector is rushing to reorganise the supply chains which used to clearly separate industrial users, such as restaurants or distributors, and grocery stores. In the US, the government is helping by waiving some requirements and manufacturers can now sell packaged foods without nutrition labels. 

For the moment, the extra demand in grocery stores is not making up for the drop in restaurant consumption, however, and many farmers are struggling with mounting stocks. In the Netherlands, up to 1 million mt of potatoes remains unbought, while a US dairy producer said the sector was struggling to react to the “supply chain breaking down”. Canadian media reported that Ontario farms were instructed to dump 5 million L of raw milk every week in order to lower supply and support prices. Ironically, dairy farms had recently been asked to boost supply to account for panic buying. 

As the virus and containment measures continue to spread across the world, the situation could reverse. The price of a few basic crops, like rice and wheat, have already been rising because of logistical disruptions caused by lockdowns. The situation could be exacerbated by government efforts to limit exports, like in Russia, Kazakhstan and Vietnam, along with some government stockpiling goods, like in Algeria, Turkey and Tunisia. So far, however, experts say the food supply remains perfectly adequate, as they note that firms will only pass on higher commodity prices to consumers if they remain elevated for a sustained period. 

For their part, producers are doing their best to contain the virus while maintaining a steady food supply, although some plants are already facing problems. ADM announced that workers at an Iowa corn plant were placed in quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus, while Olam unveiled new health precautions in its processing facilities across the world. In more serious cases, Cargill, Tyson Foods and JBS USA had to close meat processing plants in the US to contain the virus. Unilever said it could not guarantee the supply of all goods as it decided to prioritise large and popular food products. It will focus on canned meat and soups, ice cream, and only sell the largest mayonnaise jars. 

Governments around the world are also rushing to protect the food supply chain from coronavirus disruptions by addressing labour concerns and restrictions on the cross-border movement of workers. For one, Germany announced that it will relax travel restrictions and allow seasonal workers from Eastern Europe to come in and help with the fruit and vegetable harvests. The country will also look to find local workers, such as people recently made redundant because of the coronavirus. In the same vein, Australia extended the visas of workers already in the country to make sure farmers were able to pick and pack all of their crops. 

Another option considered by nations to avoid shortages or price volatility is to create food stocks. In the EU, the Commission was asked by French farmers to fund private food stocks to avoid waste and help farmers. Government stocks can eventually help deal with disruptions, like in China where Sinograin unlocked a second batch of 500,000mt of soybeans to be crushed by COFCO. Sources mentioned that the reserves were released only to deal with delays in Brazilian imports. Qatar, meanwhile, hopes to guarantee supply by removing all import duties on food and medicinal items for a period of six months. 

The crisis is shining a light on the countries most reliant on food imports, like Singapore which can only meet 10% of its own food needs because of the scarcity of land. To address the issue, the city-state is launching a new drive to encourage rooftop gardening. Citizens around the world are also looking to grow more vegetables themselves, a move nicknamed “panic planting”. Some are calling their projects “Corona Victory Gardens”, inspired by the campaign to create “Victory Gardens” to feed the UK in WWI. 

Bread-making has become a very popular option for people stuck at home wishing to make more of their own food. Unfortunately, this has led to a shortage of active dry yeast. The solution for many is to make a sourdough starter, although it can be a lengthy and tricky process. In order to help, bread-makers in San Francisco are leaving samples of their active starters hanging from trees for others to take. One starter was left under a sign which read: “Starter name: ‘Freddie, Son of Godric’”. 

This summary was produced by ECRUU

AgriCensus Report

Grain flows to Argentine ports start to normalise: Ciara

2 Apr 2020 | Juan Pedro Tomas

The delivery of grains at Argentine ports is starting to normalise as the number of municipal government across Argentina still restricting the circulation of lorries transporting grain has fallen, Gustavo Idigoras, head of the local oilseed crushing and exporters chamber Ciara-CEC, told Agricensus.

According to a Ciara-CEC document, a total of 67 municipal governments in some provinces were still restricting the circulation of lorries transporting grain.

“The government is working with local governments (to solve transport issues) and we believe that the situation will continue to normalise in the coming days,” Idigoras said.

Ciara confirmed that ports in the Up-River, Quequen and Bahia Blanca had normalized the flow of grains.

However, the association said the decision by grain receivers union Urgara to work a single shift of eight hours is currently generating delays in grain loads at local ports.

Urgara had previously suspended strike action following a mandatory conciliation ordered by the Labour Ministry.

The union had sent a letter to Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez to suspend grain exports for a two weeks period to protect the health of workers due to the Covid-19 crisis.

Maritime workers union Somu is also working normally after a mandatory conciliation ordered by the government deactivated a protest action.

Somu had threatened not to provide services to those bulk carriers arriving from areas of high circulation of Covid-19 and that failed to fulfil with a 14-day mandatory quarantine period.

In related news, grain exporters injected a total of $1.065 billion into the local economy in March, down 6.9% year-on-year, due to the lower number of lorries that arrived to grain ports during the Covid-19 mandatory quarantine.

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Connecting with Farmers

I recently chatted with Dave Behrends, the Founder and President of Farmer Connect. I asked him how it all started.

In 2017 I attended a coffee conference in Medellin Colombia. Professor Jeffrey Sachs, an economist from Columbia University, got up on stage and told the audience,

“Every day I go to a famous coffee shop and pay $1.95 for my medium sized black coffee, but how much of that $1.95 actually goes to farmers? The answer is five cents.”

The conference descended into chaos, with everyone arguing as to whether the coffee chain makes too much money, and why the farmers don’t make enough. But what was lost – and it was this that personally inspired me – was the second statement that Jeffrey Sachs made. He said,

“If as a consumer I was given the option to pay $2 for my coffee instead of $1.95, but I was sure that that the extra five cents would go back to the farmer, or back to the farmers’ community to either double their income or really significantly improve his livelihood, I would gladly pay that extra five cents.”

That was a light bulb moment for me. I realised that he was right. Consumers would be willing to pay a little bit more as long as they could trace that money flow back to farmers and their communities.

And has that vision now come to fruition?

Yes, it has. Farmer Connect currently offers three main components, or solutions: the first is Farmer ID, the second is an Enterprise Blockchain Solution; and the third is Thank My Farmer.

Farmer ID gives each farmer a self-sovereign digital identity that stores two types of credentials: one transactional and the other behavioural (in terms of sustainability). Having the transaction and the behaviour on the platform creates a trust score and a credit score that micro-finance institutions can use to determine the farmer’s credit worthiness.

In addition to the transactional and behavioural credentials, Farmer ID also has a link to digital wallets, bank accounts or other means of payment.

The Enterprise Blockchain Solution is the second component of the scheme. It records two types of data: prices paid at every stage along the supply chain, as well as what we call ‘the journey of the product’.

Thank My Farmer is the third component. It will allow a consumer to scan a QR code on his cup, or bag, of coffee and immediately see the journey that product has taken.

It will allow consumers to contribute to social projects in the farmer’s geography or to make a donation directly to the farmer who grew the coffee.

Do you think that consumers will use the Thank My Farmer app to tip a farmer in the same way that they would tip a barista?

I think there are consumers who will engage. The millennial and post-millennial generations may be a little bit more inclined to do so compared to older generations. Also, some countries have more of a tipping culture than others, so it could vary by geographies.

But we don’t want to limit it just to that. We’re speaking with brands who are saying that they want to give money to sustainability projects, and they want to allow their consumers to choose which project to support.

How will Farmer Connect increase farmer revenues?

Farmer Connect will enable consumers to engage in a new way with the supply chain and allow them to know that every cup they’re drinking is positively impacting the lives of the farmers who produce it. Once that happens, we believe that consumers will be willing to pay more for their coffee, and probably drink more.

This changes the game for everyone. Instead of fighting over whether the brand owner or the retailer make too much and the farmer make too little, we’re going to grow the whole pie. And as we grow that pie we will make sure that the farmers are getting a more than equitable share of it.

I believe that you are currently raising money.

Yes, we are going through a series A fundraising, looking to raise US $10 to 20 million, and we envision bringing in three to seven investors.

We’ve purposely gone out of our way to turn down Venture Capital and Private Equity money. Even if it means that we have a lower valuation we’ve put most of our focus on finding industry partners. We really believe that this should be done by the industry for the industry.

Dave, thank you for your time and explanations, and I wish you every success with the venture.

To see Dave’s latest blog on child labour click here.

© Commodity Conversations ® 2020

Commodity Conversations Weekly Press Summary

Last week, we talked about the importance of supermarket workers in countries that are under lockdown; this week the emphasis has moved higher up the supply chain to truck drivers and labourers. Exporters in Brazil are saying there aren’t enough trucks to bring commodities to the ports, which in turn is causing demurrage costs. Truck drivers say they are struggling because the usual amenities they require, such as highway stops and restaurants, are closing down. In India, labourers are reportedly worried about their working conditions and refuse to work unless they are provided with proper equipment to protect them from the coronavirus. This labour shortage has forced most Indian ports to declare force majeure, while industries such as sugar mills are struggling to finish the harvest. 

The global sugar market has been particularly affected by the coronavirus outbreak as Brazilian mills, which can choose whether to make ethanol or sugar with their cane, are maximising sugar output given the collapse in fuel demand. Whereas a few months ago many analysts had forecast a global deficit of sugar, the switch in Brazil means the world is likely to see a sugar surplus instead, causing a collapse in sugar prices. 

The price of coffee has soared, on the other hand, with coffee roasting nations looking to bring supply forward in anticipation of further logistic disruptions. Packaged coffee sales in the US surged 25% over the past month, according to Nielsen. Coffee producers in countries such as Brazil and Colombia are getting near-record high prices for their coffee in local currency. A lack of containers, as well as labour shortages, are expected to exacerbate the situation. 

The Ivory Coast said it won’t be selling any more cocoa to major exporters like Cargill and Barry Callebaut, which have already bought more than they had contracted. This is to ensure there is enough supply for smaller buyers amid a lower crop. The smaller, mainly domestic, exporters had earlier asked for support from the Coffee and Cocoa Council to help them compete as they cannot afford to pay the same level of premiums as bigger companies. 

Cocoa importers in the US, meanwhile, have been asked by customs to fill in a questionnaire to identify forced child labour in their supply chain from the Ivory Coast. However, the World Cocoa Foundation said there were only few instances of forced child labour in the country’s cocoa industry, adding that potential restrictions, or even an outright ban, on cocoa imports would be counterproductive and end up hurting farmers who are already very poor. 

Barry Callebaut argued that helping farmers out of poverty was key to ending deforestation. The group said it was on track with its cocoa sustainability targets, having mapped 220,000 farms it sources cocoa from in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, an area of 160,000sq km. It has also helped plant 750,000 native trees to shade cocoa trees and protect them from the weather. Similarly, Nestle said it had managed to map three-quarters of the 120,000 farms it sources cocoa from in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, with the remaining quarter expected to be mapped by October this year. It has also planted 560,000 shade trees. 

Olam said it had spotted over 7,000 instances of child labour in its cocoa supply chain, following a partnership with the Fair Labor Association to monitor 7,000 suppliers in Cameroon. It said it had solved two-thirds of the issues identified by using revenues from the sustainable premium cocoa to build schools. On the other hand, Olam has been accused of failing to prevent deforestation in its palm oil plantations in Gabon. Olam denied the allegations, which will be investigated by the Forest Stewardship Council. 

Environmentalists are worried that deforestation could surge in Brazil’s Amazon as Ibama, the environment protection agency, said it had to reduce enforcement personnel on the ground because of the coronavirus outbreak. Around 30% of Ibama’s workforce is in the most vulnerable age group, it explained, adding that budget cuts had not made it possible to hire younger people.  

In the UK, the Global Resource Initiative Task Force is urging the government to make deforestation targets in the supply chain legally binding by 2030. The taskforce, which has the support of McDonald’s, Tesco and Cargill, among others, also recommends compulsory due diligence. 

Did you know? This week marked the 128th anniversary of the birth of Coca-Cola. The drink, which was initially designed to be a hangover cure, was advertised as a “brain tonic.”

This summary was produced by ECRUU

AgriCensus Report

China ag futures spike as food shortage concerns mount

30 Mar 2020 | Johnny Huang

Domestic futures in China ranging from soymeal to palm oil all jumped on Monday as traders built positions on growing concerns of a potential food supply shortage amid the ongoing coronavirus epidemic.

Agricultural futures for the soybean complex and corn and palm oil listed on Dalian Commodity Exchange and those for the rapeseed complex and wheat and sugar on Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange all rose on Monday to their highest level in recent weeks.

“People were rumouring all types of issues in South America, suggesting that there could food shortage [in China]… Domestic agricultural sector was very excited today,” one China-based futures trader said.

Commodities that China imports a large amount of were leading the rally with soybean futures gaining 2-5% through the curve from last Friday’s close followed by soymeal, soyoil, rapeseed meal and oil, palm oil that jumped 1-3% across the board.

China imports around 85-90 million mt of soybeans a year mainly from Brazil and the US, accounting for more than half of total soybean imports globally.

Market participants have been circulating reports of potential disruptions to inland and port logistics in the US, Brazil and Argentina as more coronavirus cases were reported, as well as the cessation of palm oil production in Malaysia.

Supplies for China’s major agricultural imports, including soybeans and palm oil, could face a supply shortage if such disruptions occur.

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Grounds for optimism?

I met recently with Nicolas A. Tamari, the CEO of Sucafina. I asked him about the geographical spread of his business.

We are in the top five of global coffee traders. One out of every 20 cups of coffee drunk in the world comes from Sucafina. That is a big number, but we look more at profitability than at volume. We say that ‘volume is vanity, profit is sanity and cash flow is reality’. We look to be profitable, not to fight for market share.

We source about one third of our coffee from Africa, one third from the Americas, and one third from Asia. Historically we were more of a robusta based company, but in the last decade we’re now doing more arabica. The majority of our business is now arabica.

Our strategy in the next five years is to build in Asia in terms of both origination and destination. A couple of months back we acquired a specialty coffee merchant operating in Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. It used to be called MTC, which stood for Mountain Top Coffee, but has been rebranded as Sucafina Specialty.

Who owns Sucafina today?

The company today is owned by the family and by the management. We believe that commodity trading companies should be owned by the management. It’s a people business. We are about one thousand employees in total in the company.

We encourage key people to become shareholders. To become a shareholder, you have to have worked for the company for a minimum number of years, to share our values, and to contribute to the bottom line financially.

Why are coffee prices so low and do you see any relief for growers in the near future?

Prices are currently low because the Brazilian Real is low against the US dollar. Brazil is the largest producer and exporter of coffee, and the low Real gives producers there a reasonable return.

As you know in coffee, we have two exchanges: one in New York that trades arabica and one in London that trades robusta. They are two different qualities. To make an analogy, they are like red wine and white wine.

The contract specification for the New York contract is washed arabica. Brazil mainly produces natural Arabica, which means that the vast majority of Brazilian coffee cannot be tendered on the Exchange – even if it still trades on that Exchange.

It’s a little bit like the cotton anomaly of a decade or so ago. You remember how most of the cotton in the world cannot be tendered against the futures market. It has to be US origin.

We have a similar phenomenon in coffee now where most of the physical coffee trades against a market where it cannot be delivered. I believe that this technical situation in itself will lead to a rally in prices.

In addition, even with the Coronavirus I am confident that coffee consumption will keep growing in the decade to come.

So yes, I believe we will soon have a rally, and that the New York market will reflect the fundamental tightness in washed arabica coffee.

If the New York contract is washed arabica while Brazil produces only natural arabica, why doesn’t Brazil just wash the coffee and make it deliverable?

Less than 10 percent of Brazil’s arabica coffee can be washed in Brazil. That 10 percent can be delivered on the exchange. Traditionally – for the last hundred years or so – the Brazilians rarely washed their coffee. The majority do not currently have the infrastructure to wash it, and it would need substantial capex to build it.

Do the futures markets in London and New York work well?

Both are liquid. Both set prices correctly.

But as I mentioned, most of the coffee traded against the New York Exchange is not tenderable. This results in a de-correlation between physical and futures prices in terms of the basis, which we call the ‘differential’.

Historically differentials were not particularly volatile, except for Colombia in 2009 when we had a weather problem. Recently differentials have become more volatile leading to a total de-correlation between physical and futures.

Right now, we’re currently living with a scenario where washed arabica coffee is trading at the massive premium to the underlying futures. There is a shortage of washed arabica coffee, but an excess of natural arabica coffee.

So, what would stop someone taking delivery of New York and getting the washed coffee?

That’s what’s happening as we speak and that’s why I believe the market will rally.

Thank you, Nicolas, for your time and your insights.

© Commodity Conversations ®

This is a short extract of an interview that I plan to publish in full in my new book Merchants and Roasters – Conversations over Coffee – hopefully out at the end of this year.

Commodity Conversations Weekly Press Summary

The spread of the coronavirus is making us rethink the world’s food supply chain. We have, suddenly, come to realise how important supermarkets employees and cashiers are. So much so, in fact, that the US states of Minnesota and Vermont decided to classify food distribution workers as “essential” workers, putting them on par with health professionals and making them eligible for free child care. 

For the elderly, sick or disabled consumers, food delivery staff act like emergency first responders. According to this opinion piece, people working for services like Instacart, DoorDash or UberEats are shouldering the health risks involved with shopping and are often badly compensated, with poor or no health insurance. With the government yet to recognise their role, the onus might be on the companies to protect their workers. This is especially so given that food delivery firms are reaping huge financial returns from the surge in demand. The value of the meal delivery company Blue Apron is now seven times higher than it was last week, while shares jumped as much as 198% in one day. 

Further along the supply chain, containment measures like lockdowns are starting to have an impact on transport logistics. The FAO warned that the biggest issue at the moment was making sure products can be quickly transported from origin to destination. Experts say food prices will inevitably go up if quarantine measures are extended for more than two months. The outbreak is revealing that the food distribution system is “more fragile than we think it is”, a professor at Purdue University said. 

Countries that rely on imports are the most at risk, while some countries play an outsize role in producing a single crop, like Russia’s growing importance as a wheat exporter. The whole situation could escalate even further if countries start to hoard food. Kazakhstan and Serbia, for example, recently banned the export of some food products. 

Eventually, food production itself could take a hit due to the shortage of workers, especially with borders closing down. Rural populations face a higher risk because they often have pre-existing conditions, while rural hospitals are less equipped. In the UK, farmers are calling on the government to help retrain workers who lost their jobs because of the virus to help with food production. The sector faces a potential shortage of 80,000 workers and needs a “land army” to ensure the food supply remains stable, unions said. In some sectors, like Brazil’s and Australia’s sugar industry, the switch to mechanised harvesting will help maintain supply, although other operations like plant maintenance could be affected. 

Most government’s containment measures include clear exemptions for essential products like food and drinks. The problem is that there is a lot of confusion. In Brazil’s Mato Grosso, the city of Rondonopolis forced all facilities to close, including plants owned by Bunge and COFCO. The agriculture ministry said the decree did not comply with federal guidance and called on firms to sue the local government. Nestle also fell victim to the confusion over a lockdown in India. The group, which operates eight facilities in the country, said it suspended or slowed operations while it was engaged in talks with the government over an exemption to the lockdown. 

For the most part, however, agricultural groups are not reporting any major disruptions so far. In the US, ADM, Anderson and Bayer mentioned that they were able to maintain operations as usual ahead of the crucial planting season. Cargill said it had noted a slight increase in net demand although the food service sector now only represents 15% of sales, compared to 55% a week ago. A global recession could change consumption patterns and reduce the global meat demand, a Cargill director said, although supply issues could support prices. In the meantime, he said the group was “making decisions by the hour.” 

On a brighter note, corn futures were supported by news that China had bought the most amount of US corn since 2013, a sign that the country is on the road to recovery. China had been expected to increase imports only in the second half of the year. Cargill also reported that it was now operating its Chinese poultry plant at 80% capacity, compared to 30-40% during the worst of the outbreak. 

The lockdown is also forcing people to spend more time cooking at home. Some, like the Silicon Valley crowd, are struggling more than others. Check out this new recipe from San Francisco – cooking frozen tater tots in a waffle iron – called a totwaffles.

This summary was produced by ECRUU