
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, August 26, 1994                   TAG: 9408260067
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: LONDON                                 LENGTH: Short

COFFEE CROP TO DROP 37 PERCENT IN BRAZIL

Next season's frost-damaged Brazilian coffee harvest will be 37 percent below the pre-freeze potential, a leading commodities analyst estimated Thursday.

F.O. Licht, an independent German commodities specialist, said damage from two freezes in Brazil in June and July was moderate compared with 1975 frost damage, which pushed world coffee prices to record highs in 1977.

The International Coffee Organization's daily market indicator hit a high of $2.16 a pound on July 13 after the two frosts in Brazil but was down to $1.82 by Wednesday. It averaged 60 cents last year.

Licht estimated the average 1995 price would be $1.78 a pound.

- Associated Press

by CNB