What Drove Brazil's Coffee Export Growth This January?
Brazil's coffee exports reached 3.961 million 60 kg bags in January, up 39% year on year, with foreign exchange revenue rising 30.4% to US$802.5 million, according to CECAFÉ. Robusta exports jumped 503.5% to 457,787 bags, while arabica coffee remained the main category at 3.288 million bags, or 80.98% of the total.
The gains came despite the Red Sea shipping crisis, Panama Canal drought and a Santos port strike. Supply gaps in what is robusta coffee production from Vietnam, caused by drought and delivery problems, opened substitution opportunities for Brazil. Itaú BBA forecasts Brazil's 2024/25 crop at 69.4 million bags, up 4.6% on the previous season.
The latest report from the Brazil Coffee Exporters Council (CECAFÉ) shows that Brazil's coffee exports performed strongly in January, with exports of 60 kg bags reaching 3.961 million bags, up 39% year-on-year, while foreign exchange revenue also rose 30.4% to US$802.5 million. Robusta exports surged 503.5%, becoming the main growth engine, while arabica and instant coffee also maintained stable shares. Despite ongoing logistics challenges such as the Red Sea shipping crisis, drought in the Panama Canal, and a strike at Brazil's Port of Santos, Brazil's coffee exports still showed resilience. Notably, major robusta-producing countries such as Vietnam experienced supply gaps due to drought and delivery problems, creating substitution opportunities for Brazil. International investment bank Itaú BBA forecasts that Brazil's coffee production in the 2024/25 season could reach 69.4 million bags, up 4.6% from the previous year. Front Street Coffee will also continue to monitor market developments in Brazilian coffee and bring fresh information to enthusiasts.
Recently, the Brazil Coffee Exporters Council (CECAFÉ) released the latest data on the country's coffee exports. In January 2024, Brazil shipped 3.961 million 60 kg bags of coffee to overseas markets, a sharp increase of 39% compared with the same period last year. At the same time, foreign exchange revenue climbed from US$615.5 million to US$802.5 million, an increase of 30.4%, making the overall export performance quite noteworthy.
By variety, robusta coffee exports in January grew especially dramatically, soaring 503.5% year-on-year to 457,787 bags, accounting for 11.56% of total exports. Arabica coffee remained the main export category, totaling 3.288 million bags, or 80.98%; instant coffee exports were 293,467 bags, or 7.41%; while exports of roasted coffee beans were relatively small, at only 1,888 bags, or 0.05%.
The president of CECAFÉ commented that it was truly not easy for Brazil's coffee exports to achieve such results in January. With frequent geopolitical conflicts around the world, obstructed shipping in the Red Sea, reduced vessel traffic through the Panama Canal due to severe drought, and long-standing domestic logistics bottlenecks in Brazil, all of these placed considerable pressure on exports, though the overall impact was limited.
Among these, Brazil's domestic logistics problems were especially prominent. In mid-to-late January, the country's largest export port, the Port of Santos, and Guarulhos International Airport experienced a strike by tax and customs clearance personnel, causing a chain reaction of port congestion, ship delays, and reduced operating hours, forcing exporters to bear high additional costs.
Despite numerous logistics and infrastructure challenges, Brazil's coffee exports still achieved growth, mainly thanks to the strong performance of robusta. Brazilian robusta remains highly competitive in the international market and continues to fill the supply gap caused by crop reductions in important producing countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia. Taking Vietnam as an example, affected by drought, Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture forecast that the country's coffee production in the 2023/24 season would decline by 10% to 1.656 million tons. In addition, due to producers holding back sales and tensions in the Red Sea, traders have been avoiding purchasing coffee beans in Vietnam.
Although Brazil has also been affected by weather changes, with extreme heat and unstable rainfall in some producing regions, thanks to the regulation provided by water storage facilities, coffee production in 2024 is still expected to be safeguarded and may even increase slightly. International investment bank Itaú BBA forecasts that, as future weather conditions are expected to improve, Brazil's coffee production in the 2024/25 season could reach 69.4 million bags (60 kg per bag), up 4.6% from the previous year.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
