Brazilian coffee exports during the first eight months of the year expanded in terms of revenue but were lower in terms of volume compared to the same period last year, thanks to better prices.
Brazilian coffee exports reached $4.1 billion during January through August, which was 1 percent more than in the same period a year earlier in dollar terms, Agencia Brasil, the country´s official news agency, said, citing figures from the Brazilian Agriculture ministry.
The volume of coffee exported was 0.97 percent lower with total sales of 23.6 million bags of 132 pounds each of either green or toasted grains as well as of milled or soluble coffee, the news agency reported.
“Europe was the main importer market of Brazilian coffee, responsable for the acquisition of 45 percent of all coffee shipped,” the agency added. “Other markets with large purchases were the United States, Japan, Canada and Turkey.”
During the period analyzed, coffee made up 6.9 percent of all of the Brazilian agriculture and livestock exports. It was the fifth category behind soy beans (including oils), meats, forest products and ethanol, the agency said.
The export of coffee in terms of volume fell because of drought and temperatures above the historical averages, especially in the regions of Minas Gerais and Espirito Santo, which are the country´s biggest coffee producers, Agencia Brasil reported.
Those conditions affected volumes of shipments, which only started to approach normal average levels in the last month, it added.
“Now, with the end of the harvest season, the movements of merchandise in ports will be intensified,” Agencia Brazil wrote.
As of late September, data from the Brazilian National Supply Company regarding this year´s harvest projected a collection of 44 million bags of coffee beans, which would represent a 2.95 percent reduction compared with 2014.
As for prices, “coffee is one of the few commodities with a positive variation abroad, which explains the 1 percent gain in the value of exports,” the news agency said.
This was also reflected in the internal market, where Arabica coffee type 6, one of the best quality beans, obtained a price of $108.8 per bag from January through August, which compared to $105.14 in the same period last year.
The news agency also said that Brazilian coffee producers are currently intensifying efforts to capture a bigger share of the Canadian market, which is expanding about 3 percent annually while currently importing 23 percent of the imported coffee it consumes from Brazil.
