Up to 45 producers and 56 types of speciality-grade coffee from 12 countries will join the first "Singapore Virtual (Micro Lot) Specialty Coffee Auction" on Thursday from 2pm to 4pm Bangkok time.
The auction, set to take place on Thursday, will help farmers from 12 countries market coffee to Asia. (Photo courtesy of Singapore Coffee Association)
Organised virtually by the Singapore Coffee Association in collaboration with Food&HotelAsia (FHA) with the aim to mitigate supply challenges in the coffee trade posed by Covid-19, the event will allow buyers to source directly from the point of origin and enable coffee producers to establish a presence in the Asian market.
All producers will be first-timers from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar, Panama, Peru, Timor Leste, Venezuela and Zambia.
Among the 56 lots of speciality coffee beans will be rare and premium Panamanian Geisha from Panamanian producers Cafe Don Benjie and Cafelino S.A.
Grown in the highland areas of Panama, the Geisha beans undergo a meticulous process, from hand-picking of the ripe cherries to processing the beans. They are hailed as the world's most expensive coffee beans, selling at US$1,029 (32,400 baht) for 0.45kg last year.
Other varieties in the auction include Mundo Novo, Geisha and Yellow Catucaí from Brazil; Caturra Amarillo from Colombia; F1 Centroamericano and Hy-04 Natural from Costa Rica; Bourbon from Guatemala; Ateng Super from Indonesia; SL 34, SL 28 and Ruiru Grafted from Kenya; and Catuai and Catimor H528 from Myanmar.
An estimated 200 bidders from around Asia and the Middle East are expected to turn up at this first-ever virtual coffee auction, which will be preceded by an exclusive webinar on "Effects of Climate Change on Coffee Production in Asean" where experts will share their views and address the issue at the farm level, from noon to 1pm (Bangkok time) on the same day. To join the webinar, visit bit.ly/2Eq2Qwu.
To register for the auction, visit this link.
