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Responding to the Coffee Crisis: What We Can Learn from Price Dynamics

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  • Mehta, A.
  • Chavas, Jean-Paul

Abstract

An econometric model of coffee price dynamics is specified and estimated to capture the evolution of coffee prices at the farm, wholesale and retail levels. It investigates the historical influence of the International Coffee Agreement (ICA) through its effects on yield and planting decisions. In the short run, the ICA caused Brazilian farm prices to become disconnected from international prices. The ICA helped coffee producers to better incorporate current world price information into planting decisions. This created a price cycle that did not exist in non-ICA periods. The low coffee prices experienced since the disintegration of the ICA are consistent with low supply response to price information. Asymmetric price transmission at the retail level helped roasters and retailers benefit from upstream price interventions. Our results urge caution when considering future coffee price interventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Mehta, A. & Chavas, Jean-Paul, 2008. "Responding to the Coffee Crisis: What We Can Learn from Price Dynamics," Working Papers 201444, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Food System Research Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uwfswp:201444
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.201444
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    Cited by:

    1. Wei Zhang & Sayed Saghaian & Michael Reed, 2022. "Influences of Power Structure Evolution on Coffee Commodity Markets: Insights from Price Discovery and Volatility Spillovers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-27, November.
    2. Andrea Bastianin & Alessandro Lanza & Matteo Manera, 2018. "Economic impacts of El Niño southern oscillation: evidence from the Colombian coffee market," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(5), pages 623-633, September.
    3. Daniel Grandisky Lerner & Helder Marcos Freitas Pereira & Maria Sylvia Macchione Saes & Gustavo Magalhães de Oliveira, 2021. "When Unfair Trade Is Also at Home: The Economic Sustainability of Coffee Farms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-14, January.
    4. Ghoshray, Atanu, 2021. "Are coffee farmers worse off in the long run?," 95th Annual Conference, March 29-30, 2021, Warwick, UK (Hybrid) 311084, Agricultural Economics Society - AES.
    5. Santiago Arango-Aramburo & Yuliana Acevedo & Joep Sonnemans, 2019. "The Influence of the Strength of Financial Institutions and the Investment-Production Delay on Commodity Price Cycles: A Framed Field Experiment with Coffee Farmers in Colombia," De Economist, Springer, vol. 167(4), pages 347-358, December.
    6. Michael S. Webb & Viv B Hall, 2009. "Application Of A Dynamic Panel Data Estimator To Cross-Country Coffee Demand: A Tale Of Two Eras," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 34(1), pages 1-17, June.
    7. Dreyer, Heiko & Anders, Sven M., 2014. "Experience matters - trade duration and survival of coffee exports," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182758, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Covindassamy, Genevre & Robe, Michel A. & Wallen, Jonathan, 2016. "Sugar With Your Coffee?: Financials, Fundamentals, and Soft Price Uncertainty," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 8588, Inter-American Development Bank.
    9. Holmes, Mark J. & Otero, Jesús, 2023. "Psychological price barriers, El Niño, La Niña: New insights for the case of coffee," Journal of Commodity Markets, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    10. Nguyen Thi Tuoi & Nguyen Phu Son & Pham Le Thong, 2021. "Estimating the Market Power of Traders in the Arabica Coffee Value Chain in Lam Dong, Vietnam," International Journal of Economics and Financial Research, Academic Research Publishing Group, vol. 7(3), pages 102-108, 09-2021.
    11. Lee, Jun & Gomez, Miguel I., 2011. "Impacts of the End of the Coffee Export Quota System on International-to-Retail Price Transmission," Working Papers 126600, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    12. Li, Xi-Le & Saghaian, Sayed, 2014. "The Presence Of Market Power In The Coffee Market: The Case Of Colombian Milds," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170348, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Stavrakoudis, Athanassios & Panagiotou, Dimitrios, 2016. "Price dependence between coffee qualities: a copula model to evaluate asymmetric responses," MPRA Paper 75994, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Hidalgo, Francisco & Quiñones-Ruiz, Xiomara F. & Birkenberg, Athena & Daum, Thomas & Bosch, Christine & Hirsch, Patrick & Birner, Regina, 2023. "Digitalization, sustainability, and coffee. Opportunities and challenges for agricultural development," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    15. Atanu Ghoshray & Sushil Mohan, 2021. "Coffee price dynamics: an analysis of the retail-international price margin [Commodity dependence and development: suggestions to tackle the commodities problem]," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 48(4), pages 983-1006.
    16. Omid Zamani & Thomas Bittmann & Jens‐Peter Loy, 2022. "The role of temperature for seasonal market integration: a case study of poultry in Iran," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(1), pages 187-215, January.
    17. Subervie, Julie, 2011. "Producer price adjustment to commodity price shocks: An application of threshold cointegration," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 2239-2246, September.
    18. Atanu Ghoshray, 2010. "The Extent Of The World Coffee Market," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 97-107, January.
    19. Stavrakoudis, Athanassios & Panagiotou, Dimitrios, 2016. "Price dependence and asymmetric responses between coffee varieties," Agricultural Economics Review, Greek Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 17(2), June.
    20. Jun Lee & Miguel I. Gómez, 2013. "Impacts of the End of the Coffee Export Quota System on International-to-Retail Price Transmission," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(2), pages 343-362, June.
    21. Blake, Daniella & Dawson, Carolina & Loeillet, Denis & Staver, Charles, 2018. "Can Global Climate Change affect Prices in the World Banana Market?," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 67(1), March.
    22. Ghoshray, Atanu, 2022. "Trends and persistence of farm-gate coffee prices around the world," 96th Annual Conference, April 4-6, 2022, K U Leuven, Belgium 321166, Agricultural Economics Society - AES.
    23. Tadahiro Nakajima, 2014. "Price Formation of Coffee Beans: New Evidence from the Japanese Market," Research in World Economy, Research in World Economy, Sciedu Press, vol. 5(2), pages 23-30, September.

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