COLOMBIA'S COFFEE MARKETING TO BE MORE FLEXIBLE
Colombia intends to improve the
marketing of its coffee with the accent on more flexibility on
setting export registration prices, finance minister Cesar
Gaviria said.
    Speaking to reporters after announcing a lower export
registration price, or reintegro, of 1.10 dlr per lb ex-dock
New York, Gaviria said export mechanisms would be more agile.
    "In the first stage, we decided not only to lower the
reintegro but also to adopt a flexible policy of reintegro that
will allow private exporters to participate more actively in
Colombia's coffee export policy," he said.
    Traders said this means the export registration price will
change more often in a truer reflection of market trends.
    Gaviria said the measures merely responded to new market
factors since a return to a system of International Coffee
Organisation (ICO) export quotas may not occur in the short
term.
    ICO talks last month in London failed to break a deadlock
over re-introduction of export quotas, suspended in February
1986.
    Gaviria stressed that Colombia will not necessarily suffer
from depressed prices because it can compensate lower prices
with increased volume.
    "Colombia will continue to export its traditional amount of
coffee, between 9.6 and 10 mln bags (of 60 kilos), and will do
so without an agreement among producers," he said.
    He ruled out a much higher volume of exports, or up to 13.5
mln bags as mentioned in market circles, "because the idea is
precisely not to disrupt the market."
    Colombia exported a record 11.5 mln bags in the 1985/86
coffee year which ended last September 30.
    Echoing Gaviria's words, Jorge Cardenas, manager of the
national coffee growers' federation, said Colombia sought to
adapt its coffee marketing policy to circumstances.
    "There is great expectation in the world for the policies
that Brazil and Colombia will adopt. Ours is beginning to
emerge and no agreement among producers is foreseeable in the
immediate future," he told journalists.
    Trade sources in Rio today said Brazil's future export
policy was unlikely to be revealed before the end of next week.
    Cardenas said a new ICO meeting could only take place when
problems that hindered an agreement at the recent London talks
have been resolved.
    Asked to comment on a Reuter report from Jakarta saying
Indonesia hoped Colombia could use its contacts with Brazil to
suggest a compromise on the quota issue, Cardenas said the
Brazilian stand was quite clear.
    He said Brazil's current quota "reflects the reality of the
market, allows for an orderly supply and satisfies demand," but
added more clarity was needed to assess the criteria that
determined it.
    Cardenas said lows registered immediately after the failure
of the London talks were triggered by a widespread fear among
dealers of an imminent price war and the belief that producers
would go out and sell their coffee as quickly as possible,
which did not happen.
 Reuter
