14 May 2009 - Global coffee consumption may drop by 1-2% this year due to the global economic slowdown, Mario Cerutti, supply chain and coffee buying department director at Lavazza, told reporters.
Cerruti sees consumption falling in 2009 but the recession will not have any longer term impact. In addition, consumers are drinking coffee at home and buying less-expensive blends.
The International Coffee Organization forecasts 2008 world coffee consumption at 128 million bags. However, it did not provide a forecast for 2009.
Cerutti believes 2009-10 world coffee production will fall short of consumption by between 3 million and 5 million bags, mainly due to it being an "off" year in Brazil's biennial cycle.
One of Italy's leading coffee companies, Lavazza buys about 2.3 million 60kg bags of green coffee a year and has the capacity to roast about 500 tons of coffee a day.