Global Coffee Roundup: August 11–17, 2026
- ADITYA Kumar
- 5 days ago
- 5 min read
The week of August 11–17 brought a sharp reminder that coffee prices were shaped by much more than futures charts.
Harvest delays in Brazil, a major earthquake in Colombia, strong exports from Vietnam, new packaging rules in Europe, and long-term plans for India’s coffee sector all influenced the global conversation.
Here’s the week’s coffee roundup in a simple format.
Market watch: arabica moved higher
September arabica futures surged by approximately 3.5%, reaching a six-week high. The move was supported by concerns over tight near-term supply and a slower-than-usual Brazilian harvest.
ICE arabica certified inventories also fell to 231,445 bags, their lowest level in roughly two and three-quarter years. Low exchange stocks often make the market more sensitive to delays, logistics problems, and weather news.
Robusta also rose during the week:
September robusta gained approximately 2.6%.
ICE robusta inventories climbed to a five-month high of 4,537 lots.
The increase in certified robusta stocks provided a more bearish signal than the arabica inventory picture.
In short, arabica was supported by scarcity, while robusta faced pressure from improving availability.
Brazil: harvest progress remained behind schedule
Brazil’s 2026/27 harvest continued at a slower pace than last year.
According to Safras & Mercado, the overall harvest was approximately 90% complete as of August 12, compared with:
97% at the same point last year
94% for the five-year average
The arabica harvest was approximately 86% complete.
Cooxupé, one of Brazil’s largest coffee cooperatives, reported that its members had completed 74.6% of the harvest by August 7. That compared with 80.4% at the same time in the previous year.
Dry conditions in Minas Gerais helped farmers speed up harvesting during the week. However, the delay still mattered because coffee had to be picked, processed, dried, and moved before it could reach exporters and roasters.
Weather concerns also extended beyond the current crop. The possibility of El Niño added uncertainty around flowering for the next Brazilian season. Changes in rainfall and temperature during flowering can affect both the number and quality of cherries produced.
For the market, Brazil presented two contrasting stories:
A large crop remained a potential source of relief.
The slow pace of harvesting kept short-term supply tight.
That combination helped push arabica prices higher.
Colombia: earthquake disrupted coffee logistics
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on August 10, affecting several important coffee-growing areas.
The disaster caused more than 250 deaths and affected departments including:
Caldas
Risaralda
Quindío
Valle del Cauca
Antioquia
Chocó
Caldas and Risaralda together represented approximately a quarter of Colombia’s coffee production.
The earthquake also disrupted transport around Buenaventura, Colombia’s key Pacific export port. Coffee exports were halted initially as authorities assessed roads, landslides, and port access. By the end of the week, Buenaventura had partially resumed coffee exports, but traffic remained limited.
Processing facilities escaped major damage, which was encouraging. The bigger concern was the movement of coffee from farms, mills, and warehouses to export terminals.
The immediate effects included:
Delayed shipments
Possible congestion at alternative ports
Higher inland transportation costs
Greater uncertainty for buyers waiting for Colombian lots
The event also showed why coffee supply chains need flexibility. A crop can remain safe at origin, but damaged roads and restricted ports can still interrupt international deliveries.
Vietnam: strong export performance supported robusta supply
Vietnam recorded strong coffee export activity during the first seven months of 2026.
Reported figures showed:
Approximately US$5.45 billion in coffee export value from January to July
Around 1.2 million tonnes exported
Volume growth of approximately 10.8% year on year
Full-year 2026 exports expected to rise by 21.1% to approximately 1.31 million tonnes
The figures reinforced Vietnam’s importance in the global robusta market. Strong shipments helped balance the supply concerns affecting arabica.
Vietnam and Uganda also explored opportunities to build climate-resilient coffee value chains. The discussions focused on practical areas such as:
Agroforestry
Climate-smart farming
Farmer finance
Irrigation and infrastructure
Digital traceability
Better market access
This was an important direction for the industry. Climate resilience was no longer just a farm-level concern. It was becoming part of the wider business conversation, from production and processing to export and retail.
India: Araku looked toward a bigger future
India’s Araku coffee region received long-term attention this week.
The Regional Coffee Research Station in Alluri Sitarama Raju district set a target of producing 50,000 tonnes of coffee by 2047, up from approximately 15,000 tonnes a year today.
The plan focused on improving productivity and quality rather than simply expanding the area under cultivation. It also kept tribal farmers at the centre of the strategy.
The proposed approach included:
Scientific soil management
Better farm productivity
Organic cultivation practices
Shade trees and biodiversity
Improved quality classification
Stronger export and market links
This direction aligned closely with the values behind our own Araku coffee range.
At Woodpeckers Coffee, our Araku sourcing story began with smallholder tribal farmers who cultivated coffee in a natural, ecologically sustainable way. The region’s shade-grown coffee, distinctive landscape, and community-based farming continued to make it an important part of India’s specialty coffee identity.
The 2047 target suggested that Araku’s future would depend not only on producing more coffee, but on protecting the character and quality that made the origin special.
Europe: packaging rules entered their application phase
The European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation reached an important milestone during the week.
The regulation entered into force in 2025, but began applying from August 12, 2026. It covered packaging across industries, including coffee.
The new framework focused on:
More recyclable packaging
Reduced packaging waste
Clearer disposal labels
Less unnecessary material
Restrictions on harmful chemicals such as PFAS
Increased use of recycled content over time
Greater support for reuse, refill, and collection systems
For coffee companies, this meant that packaging choices needed to be considered across the full product life cycle. Freshness remained essential, but so did material selection, recyclability, compliance, and end-of-life collection.
Sustainable packaging was no longer only a brand preference. It was becoming a market-access requirement.
Coffee events: what just finished and what was next
The week also brought several important industry gatherings.
Events that wrapped up
Uganda Coffee & Cocoa Expo: August 13–15, Kampala, Uganda
Hainan International Coffee Expo: August 14–16, Hainan, China
The Uganda event focused on innovation, sustainability, and global market access. It brought together farmers, exporters, roasters, traders, policymakers, and hospitality professionals.
Events coming up
Expo Café México: September 3–5, Mexico City
Astana Coffee Expo: September 3–5, Astana, Kazakhstan
Coffee Europe Expo: September 15–17, Warsaw, Poland
Astana Coffee Expo was expected to bring together coffee companies, equipment suppliers, roasters, HoReCa businesses, and industry professionals from Kazakhstan and Central Asia.
Coffee Europe Expo in Warsaw was scheduled to focus on coffee, equipment, and accessories for the European coffee industry.
What this week meant for coffee drinkers
The global coffee market remained closely connected.
A delayed harvest in Brazil affected prices in New York. An earthquake in Colombia disrupted transport. Strong Vietnamese exports provided support for robusta availability. In India, Araku’s long-term plans highlighted the value of quality, biodiversity, and farmer-focused growth.
For coffee drinkers, the message was simple: every cup reflected a long chain of people, places, weather patterns, decisions, and relationships.
At Woodpeckers Coffee, we continued to focus on carefully sourced Indian coffee, including naturally grown beans from Araku Valley and coffee cultivated in Sakleshpura since 1935. You could explore our roasted beans, ground coffee, or learn more about our coffee heritage.
That was the global coffee roundup for August 11–17, 2026.
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