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Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 10:35 PM
Package 3 - Lesson 1
Teo Teck CheePackage 3 - Lesson 1 According to the legend, An Ethiopian goatherd found his herd frolicking after eating coffee cherries. Among natural commodities in international trade, coffee usually ranks second only to petroleum in dollar value. All 50 exporting countries—led by Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, and the Ivory Coast rely upon coffee as a major source of income. Rather, it’s the chilling thought of a killing frost, which, in 1975, damaged nearly half of the country’s three billion coffee trees and sent retail prices into orbit. Frost had again hit southern Brazil. Inevitably, prices rose, even though Brazil’s actual losses fell far below the first dire predictions. Several international experts summed up coffee’s swings in this way, there are long periods of low prices, short periods of high ones. When the highs occur, farmers rush in to plant. Overproduction follows; prices fall. A disruption in coffee supplies starts the cycle all over again. 144 word |