First virtual Singapore Speciality Coffee Auction draws in 100 bidders
Shot from the auction of Santa Elena Estate’s Geisha beans. Image courtesy of SCA
100 bidders from 17 countries and regions joined the Singapore Specialty Coffee Auction held on 1 October 2020 virtually for the first time. The event saw some modest prices going to the Geisha bean variety from Panama. MD Estate Coffee Inc’s Geisha beans from Boquete Panama sold at the highest bid price of US$64.50 per kilogram to Seed & Virtue Pte Ltd, Singapore.
Organised by the Singapore Coffee Association (SCA) in partnership with Food&HotelAsia (FHA), the virtual auction saw bidders from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, South Korea, UAE and USA vying for 49 lots of specialty coffee. The auction was closely watched on socials, garnering up to 5,200 views.
Santa Elena Estate’s Geisha beans received the second highest bid of US$56 from CoHee Limited, Hong Kong. Finally, Yellow Catucaí from Guariroba Farm, Brazil was sold at US$25 to a bidder from Japan. Other lots that received intense interest from bidders included:
- CAT-129 variety from Ngoli Estate, Zambia (highest jump from US$7 to close bid at US$16);
- F1 Centroamericano, Hy-04 Natural varieties from La Margarita, Costa Rica;
- Caturra / Catuai varieties from Finca Santa Teresa, Panama;
- Arabica Catuai variety from Finca La Valentina, Panama;
Intense discussion on climate change and coffee production
The webinar “Effects of Climate Change on Coffee Production in ASEAN”, held on the same day prior to the auction, saw 133 attendees from 22 countries and regions and over 2,400 social views. Discussion centred on the impact of climate change on coffee farming in the region and how farmers can mitigate the damage caused to the industry in Southeast Asia. Industry professionals from Starbucks, a coffee industry expert based in Vietnam, and BSR deep dived into the issue and shared their views on how farmers and businesses can help reduce climate impact. From understanding business risks to analysing the different factors such as energy use and mono crop culture that affect coffee farming communities around the world, the experts agreed that the impact of climate change can be resolved through openness and collaboration among all the stakeholders.
