COMMODITY PRICE INDEX

COMMODITY PRICE INDEX Indonesia has at last decided to join a scheme launched by the Association of Coffee Producing Countries (ACPC) in May. It will hold back 20% of coffee exports to help boost sagging prices. However, its cash-strapped government wants the private sector or foreign institutions to provide $100m to finance the plan. Brazil and Colombia have already started stockpiling coffee, and have so far agreed to retain a total of 5.4m 60-kilo bags. Seven other Latin American producers want to form a regional trading group that they hope would give them more power over prices. The group would have a potential production of 14m bags annually and would be the second-biggest exporter after Brazil. So far the moves have had little effect on prices, which have sunk to six-year lows in New York and to eight-year lows in London.