Coffee prices fall in Burundi

THE price of Burundian coffee cherries fell from 510 Burundi francs (0.37 U.S. dollars) per kilogram in March 2012 to 465 francs (0.33 dollars) in the second half of May.

Thursday, May 31, 2012

THE price of Burundian coffee cherries fell from 510 Burundi francs (0.37 U.S. dollars) per kilogram in March 2012 to 465 francs (0.33 dollars) in the second half of May.Coffee prices dropped in Burundi as world coffee prices had been falling since March 8, 2012, said leaders of the three coffee stakeholders in the country -- Intercafe Burundi, the Coffee Regulatory Authority and the National Federation of Coffee Growers’ Association -- after they signed an agreement on the price Wednesday. "Coffee washing and hulling stations had to abandon some money to the benefit of growers to allow the latter keep morale due to this fall of prices,” said Oscar Baranyizigiye, Intercafe executive secretary.According to Baranyizigiye, the three coffee stakeholders also transferred some profit to coffee growers. During the 2012 season, the East African nation expects to produce at least 26,000 tons of coffee.