u.s. Import Demand for Green Coffee by Variety"

Total United States imports of green coffees were divided into three princi-pal components: milds, brazils, and robustas. The aim was to clarify the de-mand relationships among the major coffee varieties traded internationally and the factors influencing coHee prices by variety. A nine-equation model of the U. S. coHee market was constructed, consisting of import-demand, export-supply, and stock-demand functions describing the structural mecha-nisms underlying the market for each of the three coffee varieties. Estimates of structural parameters were obtained by different estimation methods, but only three-stage least-squares results are reported in this article. Parameter estimates suggest that milds (the premium coHee variety) are normal eco-nomic goods, whereas brazils and robustas are inferior goods with respect to the U. S. economy. Income Hexibility estimates at the mean were 0.39,- 0.89, and-1.82, respectively, for milds, brazils, and robustas, Estimated price Hexibilities at the mean were, for the three coffee varieties in the same order,- 0.18,- 0.21, and- 0.36. These figures suggest that demand for individual coHee varieties is reasonably price-elastic