The weak dollar has not affected all coffee exporting countries. A few major coffee exporting nations that managed to maintain lower value for their currencies against the dollar, made lucrative revenue in 2007, industry sources said.
The most affected coffee countries due to the slump in dollar value, were Brazil, Colombia, India, and Uganda. But other coffee exporting nations like Ethiopia, Honduras, Mexico, and Vietnam, where local currencies did not appreciate year-on-year, booked bumper coffee revenues in 2007.
According to the latest report released by the International Coffee Organisation (ICO), the unit value of green coffee exports in the world?s largest coffee producer-cum-exporter, Brazil, increased by 132% between 2003 and 2007 but the value in the national currency increased by only 49.4% as a direct result of depreciation in the US dollar. In fact, loss in the unit value due to dollar rate change since 2003 in Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, India, and Uganda reported at 35.71%, 27.46%, 3.27%, 10.41%, and 12.59% respectively.
However, dollar rate change in the last five years increased the unit value of the green coffee exported from the countries like Ethiopia, Honduras, Mexico and Vietnam at 4.19%, 8.93%, 2.34%, and 1.39% respectively in 2007 when compared to 2003.
In dollar terms, the world?s top Robusta producer Vietnam recorded a growth of 131% in green exports between 2003 and 2007, while the value in the national currency further increased by 143% in the same period.
The annual average of exchange rates of local currency in Brazil in 2007 appreciated by 9.17%, when compared to the value in 2006, while the Colombian Peso jumped by 11.58% and India by 8% during the same period.