Discussion:
Coffee producers in the heart of this region that grows top-notch beans learned a tough lesson in 2001, the last time prices sank: Even gourmet coffee can leave a bitter taste. This time, they are better prepared. Prices of arabica beans, the kind coveted by connoisseurs for their mild taste, have hit 17-month lows. Rather than spending their profits on luxuries like new cars and the latest electronic toys, as many once did, growers from Costa Rica to Mexico to Colombia are diversifying to protect themselves from cyclical declines like this one.The efforts of some Latin American farmers to lessen their reliance on coffee has pinched supplies of high-end arabica, which undergoes a rigorous and labor-intensive washing process, even as global demand has increased. Consumers in emerging markets are thronging coffee shops in increasing numbers. Without a sustained increase in output from Latin America, the biggest source of these sought-after coffee beans, a shortfall could
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Coffee Growers Forge a Futures Recovery
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204880404577227323136040862.html