How does heavy rain affect coffee trees in Brazil's growing regions?

Storms and heavy rain in southern Brazil have hit São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro during the flowering season for coffee trees, and the timing matters. Flooding can wash out farmland and strip blossoms from the trees, which threatens output for the new crop. Local reports count eight deaths and three missing people, with wind speeds reaching 126 km/h in São Paulo state.

Rainfall in one three-hour stretch reached 120 mm, equal to a normal month for the area. Power was cut for more than 70,000 Enel customers, and irregular rain in Minas Gerais has made growing conditions harder still. Port delays and disrupted transport add to concern across coffee producing regions that Brazilian supply stays tight and prices stay high.

Recently, several states in southern Brazil have been hit by severe storms and heavy rain, with São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro particularly hard hit, resulting in casualties and widespread power outages. This coincides with the flowering season for Brazilian coffee trees, and excessive rainfall and flooding could wash out farmland and knock blossoms off the coffee trees, threatening output for the new crop season. At the same time, irregular rainfall patterns in Minas Gerais have made growing conditions even more severe. The storms have also disrupted logistics and transport, worsening ship delays at multiple ports. The market is concerned that reduced Brazilian coffee output will persist, and prices may stay high or even rise further. This article reviews the impact of the disaster and the subsequent direction of the coffee industry.

According to local Brazilian media reports, several states in southern Brazil have recently been hit by storms and thunderstorms, with São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro suffering the worst damage. The severe weather has caused casualties, paralyzed transport and brought widespread destruction. Statistics show that three people are missing and eight have died.

Reports indicate that maximum wind speeds in Rio de Janeiro state reached as high as 87 km/h, and the destructive power of the strong winds should not be underestimated. At a construction site in a coastal area, fierce winds caused a wall to collapse, killing three workers. At the same time, heavy rain also damaged and brought down power cables and toppled trees in some areas, disrupting transport on some local roads.

A report from the Civil Defense Office of São Paulo state shows that heavy rain once again cut off power supply in multiple areas of São Paulo, and the state's emergency management center reported that several areas had entered a flood warning status and recorded wind speeds of 126 km/h. A report released by the power company Enel stated that more than 70,000 customers had their power supply cut off.

Data from the Civil Defense Office shows that rainfall in just three hours reached 120 mm, equivalent to the area's normal monthly precipitation total. The resulting floods and waterlogging swept away vehicles, toppled trees and left three people missing, with floodwater even pouring into a hospital.

The São Paulo state fire department also reported a plane crash: a small aircraft crashed in the Paraibuna mountains of São Paulo state, killing all five people on board. It is understood that the day of the incident was stormy weather with extremely high wind speeds. The Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Center (Cenipa) is currently investigating the cause of the crash.

In addition to the two states above, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul were also hit by severe storms, with toppled trees and flooding in many cities. The government has issued warning signals and alerted residents to the possibility of hail. Meteorological authorities believe the cause of the storms lies in the hot, humid climate of these regions, combined with sharp temperature drops in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay, which created conditions for the formation of an extratropical cyclone.

In fact, Brazil has frequently suffered from extreme weather this year. Since May, the country has continued to face the threat of drought, with hot, dry weather and scarce rainfall, and even long periods without a drop of rain, causing land to crack and rivers to dry up. The dry climate also triggered severe fires, and some coffee trees and land were burned, affecting coffee output for the new crop season.

Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer and exporter, and the decline in new-crop output pushed up international coffee prices, which even set a record high at one point. However, since Brazil entered its rainy season in October, the country's meteorological authorities have reported that rainfall has gradually returned to the southern coffee-producing regions, easing the drought. Combined with factors such as the delay in implementing the EU Deforestation Regulation and the strengthening US dollar, coffee prices have now begun to fall back.

Although the return of rainfall helps ease the drought, precipitation is now too heavy, especially in São Paulo state. The state was hit by a storm on October 11 that caused widespread power outages and huge economic losses. The floods and waterlogging caused by this round of storms happen to coincide with the flowering period of Brazilian coffee trees. Excessive flooding could wash out farmland, and the storms could also knock coffee blossoms off the trees, thereby affecting output. In addition, rainfall patterns in Minas Gerais, Brazil's largest coffee-producing state, have recently been unusually erratic, and the unstable precipitation has made coffee cultivation particularly difficult while also posing a threat to coffee output for the new crop season.

Moreover, the storms have also disrupted logistics and transport between regions and worsened ship delays at multiple ports in southern Brazil. Therefore, the market is now broadly worried that, against the backdrop of continued reports of reduced Brazilian coffee output, coffee prices will remain high and may even rise further.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.