It was a time of brisk changes in coffee production and price trends. During 2013, the price of green coffee continued to fall, bottoming out at roughly 100 cents (USD) per pound. The decline in prices was due to record harvests in many cultivation regions and the resultant high supply. Forecasting the price trend is also hampered by uncertainty in the stock market, which has fuelled speculation in commodities. Demand for coffee has held fairly steady for arabica variety, whereas demand for robusta has grown due to its increased consumption e.g.  in espresso coffees and in developing coffee markets.

Paulig operates in highly divergent coffee markets. In Finland and Estonia, coffee consumption has held steady and Paulig is the market leader in both. Paulig has also strengthened its position in Lithuania and Latvia. In Russia, Paulig's market share has experienced a favourable trend. Establishing the roastery in Tver has proved itself a successful solution, not only for business but also for responsibility. Paulig is the biggest single employer and taxpayer in the Tver region. The investment in a company-owned production plant has assured the customers and the market of our intention to operate long-term in Russia. The operations of the roastery have quickly been brought into line with Paulig's quality requirements, one indication of which is certification of our roastery by the McDonald's restaurant chain. We are also actively seeking a foothold in other new markets. In 2013, we established our own organisation in Poland to underpin our position on this attractive and heavily competed coffee market.

At the end of 2013, Oy Vendor Group Ab and Oy Vendor Ab were merged into their parent company, Gustav Paulig Ltd. Vendor has been part of Paulig since 2010, when a majority shareholding was acquired in the company. Vendor's specialist expertise has successfully complemented Paulig's coffee service offering. The merger will support the strategic goal of Paulig's Coffee Division to grow dynamically in the coffee-service business sector. Vendor's 80 employees were transferred to Paulig without loss of seniority and the Coffee Division's Out of Home operations were combined into a single business unit called Paulig Professional.

Even in settled coffee markets, innovations and coffee trends enliven the competitive scenario. New coffee equipment, the growth in Out of Home (OOH) channels, private-label products and young people's coffee consumption provide an inspiration for improving services and products constantly. The improvement of long-term and responsible business requires constant vigilance of the sector and painstaking analysis of research data.

2013 in figures.