June is well upon us and as you may have heard, Victoria is back into Covid lockdown once again.While regional Victorians are experiencing some easing of restrictions, Melbourne is locked down tight. Nevertheless, we here at Bennetts (together with our 3PL Warehousing) are holding the fort and will continue to operate as usual to ensure you get your caffeine fix.
 
This week the Bennetts team would like to welcome Julian Dammenhayn as our newly appointed full time Account Manager, commencing Monday 7^th June. Julian brings with him a great level of coffee and roasting knowledge which our customers will certainly benefit from. Julian will be connecting with his Bennetts customers over the coming weeks, please make him feel welcome.


PUBIC HOLIDAY CLOSURE
 
Please be advised that our office will be close on Monday the 14^th of June due to the Queen’s Birthday Public Holiday. There will be no orders despatched on this day. Please ensure orders are placed by 12.30pm on Friday the 11^th for despatch on Tuesday the 15^th of June.  If you have any queries, please contact your Account Manager directly.


ORIGIN NEWS

 Photo Credit: Reuters.com 

 
Many of you may have heard or read about the industry strikes and protests in Colombia over recent weeks. These actions coincided with a major third wave Covid outbreak and the Colombian Government moved to shut down some areas of the economy to try and stop the spread of the virus across the country. As public protests became more violent during the first half of May, many of the major arterial roads within Colombia were closed due to the extreme risk of unrest and attack on the trucking system. At the same time all of the international shipping ports across the country were abruptly closed as a precautionary measure to protect the ports infrastructure and goods.
 
The county’s largest port of Buenaventura, located on the west coast, which handles over 60% of all import and export goods for Colombia has been closed since the 27^th of April. The port is completely blocked due to inbound cargo being unable to move out of the port area. Some shipping lines are now bypassing the port as they cannot unload their cargo.
 
As the month of June starts, we have been advised that the Covid outbreak is still wreaking havoc on the Colombian Medical system, with 97% occupancy in ICU’s across the country. Colombia is now dealing with some 22,000 cases being reported per day and a death toll of 500 people per day. These figures place Colombia as one of the highest Covid death rates in the world per 100,000 people.
 
Many of the major arterial roads across the country are still closed. The popular route connecting Antioquia to Cartagena and Santa Mata to the north of the country saw the first of traffic movements last week, as coffee exporters started diverting shipments to the north of the country to load out of the Caribbean ports. These ports are relatively small compared to Buenaventura and have very limited availability of shipping containers and vessel sailings. Obviously, with the exporters scrambling to move product out of the country, these smaller ports are becoming overloaded after one week and shipping lines are pushing cargo bookings out for two to three weeks to catch up.  
 
At this time, Colombian coffee exports have now been stopped for some 5 weeks. However, on the 2^nd of June, the major road to the port of Buenaventura saw some 400 trucks move though, which gives us a small glimmer of hope that this major arterial is starting to flow again. There are still high levels of civil unrest in the Southern parts of Colombia but the Government is working hard to open the roads into the regions of Cali, Cauca and Nariño over the next week or so.
 
Due to the abrupt nature of the port and road closures in Colombia there is a massive backlog of inbound and outbound cargo all over the country. Bennetts are expecting it will take many months - not weeks, for the ports and road systems in Colombia to clear the logjam of cargo and get coffee exports working smoothly again. We will endeavour to keep you updated through this newsletter as information comes to hand. 
          

MARKET REPORT
 
Things really kicked into overdrive this past month of May, as a number of factors came together to create the perfect storm (or should we say, cyclone?), resulting in the New York “C” price going from a low of 140 US cents/lb at the start of May to a high of 166 US cents/lb at the start of June.
 

 
This steep rise amounted to 18.6% month on month (and 35% since the recent bottom in April). There are a large number of reasons behind the recent increase, but here are a few important ones to note:

• Brazil’s upcoming crop: Although we have known this year’s crop size will be smaller than usual for an “off cycle year”, the continuation of dry conditions in the world’s largest coffee growing country is now being touted as affecting next year’s crop as well. Perhaps a bit premature, but markets have a habit of reacting to this type of news if they are already a bit jittery.
   
• Colombia’s issues: This one has truly caught everyone off guard. The world’s second largest arabica producer has virtually not exported a bean over the past 6+ weeks, and now has delayed exports of about 1 million 60kg sacks of coffee (and growing), as a result of nationwide protests and blockades of main road and port infrastructure. Some coffee is starting to get through, but this has caused a major unexpected supply shock which will take months to rectify once “normal” service resumes. It will also place pressure on other mild washed origins, as the trade turns to substitutes, which might turn out to be permanent.
   
• Increased demand: This one fluctuates month to month, but generally speaking the northern hemisphere is starting to re-awake and get out and about a bit more, which means roasters are in need to fill the pipeline a bit more than hand-to-mouth, as has been the case since Covid hit. However, it remains to be seen when (or indeed if) global demand will ever recover to pre-pandemic levels now that consumption habits may have changed for good.

In addition to the above, we should mention that the US is facing high inflation risk, the fear of which has had investors rush to buy up agricultural commodities futures (which includes coffee of course), pushing the whole Ag Complex sharply in a very short period of time.  We can expect a lot of volatility in coming months, but overall higher prices are here to stay until we know what the future holds for the 21/22 Brazilian crop.
 

A WORD FROM THE CUPPING ROOM

Today we cupped newly landed Kenya AA, AB and PB grades. All displaying bright berry notes and sticky toffee finishes. Ideal for both single and blender espresso roasts. Also back in stock is our famous Indian Tiger Mountain. Cupping with a rich buttery body and flavour and finishing with sweet hazelnuts. Contact your Account Manager for more details.
 
We’ve also started selecting some amazing specialty Geisha lots from Panama. Both washed and Natural processes, we are seeing boozy winey fruits and delicate florals in the cups. These premium coffees will ship soon and are intended to land in Melbourne in the next few months. Keep your eyes on our social media when they land.
 

Panama Auromar Farm 

Happy Roasting,
The Bennetts Team