Starbucks chairman sees gourmet coffee shortages

By Frank Jack Daniel

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp. (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Chairman Howard Schultz on Friday predicted a shortage of gourmet coffee beans as coffee drinkers across the globe develop more sophisticated tastes.

Whilst its competitors will struggle to find the gourmet beans they need, a decade of buying from top-end coffee growers means the global coffee chain has ample supplies for the future, the Starbucks founder told Reuters in an interview.

"At the very top of the market where Starbucks plays, I do not believe that others will have access to the quality of coffee that we are buying because we have secured those sources," Schultz said.

Speaking on a trip to Mexico City to mark five years since opening the first store here, Schultz said Starbucks buyers traveled 300 days a year nurturing contacts with farmers, finding new growing regions and training suppliers to produce better coffee.

"At certain points in the future, the work that we have done over the last 10 years to secure supply and to establish relationships will become a significant competitive advantage," he said.

Starbucks has more than 13,000 stores worldwide, with more than 10,000 in the United States. In 2001, the chain had just 3,000 U.S. stores.

Despite shortages of the very best coffee in the long term, Schultz predicted market prices for regular arabica beans would be stable in the mid-term.

"I think the market in terms of the economic issues is fairly stable, unless there is some significant weather catastrophe somewhere in the world," he said.