Coffee business may leave Olam with bitter taste in 1H 2019

Singapore

AGRI and food giant Olam International whose business is exposed to the vagaries of weather patterns and cyclical crops expects the coffee business that was part culprit for its just-released weak 2018 earnings to remain under stress in the first half of the year.

"We expect margins in the coffee business to be under pressure over this period given the continued headwinds," said Olam chief executive and co-founder Sunny Verghese at a results briefing on Thursday when asked about the most significant risks over the next six to 12 months.

In terms of the supply glut that has been keeping a lid on coffee bean prices, Mr Verghese said he expects the global coffee surplus of nine million bag…