* Colombia expects output at 9-9.5 mln this year
* Arabica futures trading at 34-year highs
Colombia's coffee exports rose 12 percent to 659,000 60-kg bags in February versus a year earlier, while output grew 18 percent to 764,000 sacks in the same month, the country's coffee federation said on Wednesday.
Colombia, the world's top producer of high-quality washed Arabica, is expected to see coffee production this year reach at least 9 million 60-kg bags, the highest level since 2008, as better weather helps flowering, the federation says.
"The recovery of the coffee crop in Colombia during the last months of 2010 and the first months of 2011 is a consequence of favorable climatic conditions in the first quarter of last year," the federation said in a statement.
Colombia, the world's No. 3 bean exporter, has experienced lower-than-average output for the past two years due to bad weather conditions and a program to replace aging trees with younger, more
productive ones.
The International Coffee Organization said on Wednesday that world 2010-11 coffee output had been revised slightly lower to 133.7 million 60-kg bags, but would still comfortably exceed the previous year.
Arabica coffee futures rose to a 34-year high on Wednesday and looked poised for further gains while analysts believe Arabica futures trading on ICE will reach $3 per lb in the near future.
U.S. buyers said last week the premium for Colombian coffee on the physical market eased as some sellers lowered their prices as seasonal roaster demand dipped.
Colombian coffee output in the first two months of the year rose 44 percent to 1.67 million bags versus the same period in 2010, while exports increased 33 percent to 1.5 million sacks in the same period, the federation said.
"The results until now reflect the the commitment of the growers with their business and the product positioning in international markets where buyers are willing to pay more for the quality of Colombian coffee," said Luis Genaro Munoz, head of the federation.*****
