By Our Reporter
The latest report from the International Coffee Organisation [ICO] shows that, in January 2025, exports of all forms of coffee from Africa increased by 7.1 percent, rising to 1.1 million bags from 1.03 million bags in January 2024. This marks the fourteenth consecutive month of positive growth for the region, with the January 2025 export volume being the largest since 1997.
According to Coffee Market Report for February 2025, accessed by this reporter on Monday, Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda were the main drivers behind this growth, with their combined exports rising by 28.1 percent to 0.63 million bags, compared to 0.49 million bags in January 2024.
The report attributes the above increase in Africa’s exports to a downturn in Vietnam’s exports, with African coffee origins covering part of the potential shortfall.
Meanwhile, exports from Asia & Oceania saw a significant decline, falling by 31.9 percent to 3.44 million bags in January 2025, down from 5.06 million bags in January 2024.
“This contraction was primarily driven by Vietnam, where exports plummeted by 43.8 percent to 2.14 million bags. Indonesia helped mitigate some of this decline, with its exports rising by 47.4 percent to 0.68 million bags,” states the report.
South America’s coffee exports also fell by 4.2 percent, totalling 5.18 million bags in January 2025, compared to 5.41 million bags in January 2024.
Peru was the key contributor to this decline, with its exports dropping by 58.9 percent to 0.18 million bags.
The report states, “This decline was due to near-depleted stocks at the beginning of the coffee year.”
In contrast, coffee exports from Mexico & Central America increased by 10.9 percent, reaching 1.1 million bags in January 2025, up from 0.99 million bags in January 2024. Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua were the main positive drivers, with their combined exports up 16.7 percent to 0.84 million bags. However, Mexico saw a 13.6 percent decline in exports, dropping to 0.22 million bags.
Overall, the report states that global green bean exports in January 2025 totalled 9.72 million bags, a decrease of 14.2 percent from 11.32 million bags in January 2024. This marks the third consecutive month of negative growth.
