International Coffee Council 21-24 September 2010

The International Coffee Council met in London from 21 to 24 September 2010, chaired by Mr Rodolfo Trampe of Mexico and considered the following matters:

Membership of the ICA 2007: The Council reviewed the status of the 2007 Agreement. As at 24 September 2010, 47 Governments (40 Exporting, 7 Importing) have signed the ICA 2007 and 33 Governments (28 exporting, 5 importing) have completed membership procedures by depositing instruments of ratification, acceptance and approval or notifications of provisional application. Importing Members have met the requirements for entry into force of the ICA 2007 but this is not yet the case for exporting Members. The Council approved Resolutions extending the deadlines for signature of the 2007 Agreement and deposit of instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval until 28 September 2011, and extending the 2001 Agreement for a further year.

Post of Executive Director: The representatives of the Member countries of the International Coffee Organization paid a warm tribute to Dr Néstor Osorio on accepting his resignation from the post of Executive Director in order to become Colombian Ambassador to the United Nations in New York with effect from 1 November 2010. The Council appointed the Head of Operations, Mr José Sette, as Acting Executive Director for the period 1 November 2010 to 30 September 2011 and established terms of reference and procedures for the appointment of a permanent Executive Director. Terms of reference

World Coffee Conference: Mr Ricardo Villanueva, Chairman of Anacafé made a presentation on the Conference which took place in Guatemala City from Friday 26 – Sunday 28 February 2010, and read out a statement from the President of Guatemala. The Council also reviewed a report on the themes and recommendations arising from the Conference. Report I Statement

Market reports and studies: Members received a report on the world coffee market situation, and discussed studies on the following topics: cyclical patterns in the supply of coffee; relations between coffee stocks and prices; comparative analysis of retail prices of coffee in importing countries; Indicator prices and economic variables (inflation, exchange rates, prices of inputs); Employment generated by the coffee sector; Supply and demand projections (2011 – 2015) and production costs. Presentation I Studies

Projects: The Council approved two projects for submission to the Common Fund for Commodities:

• Improving African coffee processing and market access Project proposal
• Pest control model and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) application in different coffee growing areas in Indonesia Project proposal

Preparations for the implementation of ICA 2007: The Council finalized the terms of reference for the Consultative Forum on Coffee Sector Finance, and approved a strategic action plan and a development strategy for coffee under the 2007 Agreement. Strategic action plan I Terms of reference I Development strategy

Conversion factors: The Council approved a proposal to apply a co-efficient factor of 1.05 instead of 1.00 for the conversion of green decaffeinated coffee into green been equivalent, which will be applied once the 2007 Agreement has entered into force. Rules on Indicator Prices: the Council approved new procedures for the calculation of the ICO composite and group indicator prices which will come into effect after the entry into force of the ICA 2007.

International Coffee Genome Network (ICGN): A meeting with representatives of Members and the ICGN took place on 22 September to discuss cooperation on developing a long-term project or programme of work for the coffee genome.

Other ICO activities: The Council approved the programme of activities for 2010/11, reviewed progress on the implementation of the Coffee Quality-Improvement Programme and received reports on the future development of the ICO CoffeeClub Network and the ICO Step-by-Step Guide to promote consumption. Presentation

Technical presentations:  The presentations made during the week included the development of a new coffee variety by Kenya, the futures markets and world coffee trade, Global Coffee Quality Research Initiative, adding value to Robusta coffees, projects and other topics. Technical presentations

Office-holders for 2010/11: The following have been appointed:
Chairman of the International Coffee Council: Mr Ewald Wermuth, Counsellor for Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
1st Vice-Chairperson of the Council: Ms Christine Detaille, Head of Commodities Unit, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Belgium
Chairperson of the Executive Board: Mr Henry Ngabirano, Managing Director, Uganda Coffee Development Authority
Vice-Chairman of the Executive Board: Mr Ronald Peters, Executive Director, Instituto del Café de Costa Rica (ICAFE)
Chairman of the Private Sector Consultative Board (PSCB): Mr Robert Nelson, President and CEO, National Coffee Association of USA
Vice-Chairman of the PSCB: Mr Ricardo Villanueva, Chairman, Asociación Nacional del Café (Anacafé), Guatemala
Executive Board 2010/11:
Exporting Members: Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Vietnam, Zimbabwe
Importing Members: European Union (EU, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain), Norway, Switzerland, United States of America

Next meeting: The Council will hold its 106th Session in Côte d’Ivoire from 28 to 31 March 2011.