São Paulo – A record-high coffee crop is expected in Brazil this year. According to a survey done in November and released on Tuesday (11) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), 59.6 million 60-kg bags of coffee should be harvested in 2018 – an amount equivalent to 3.6 million tons of the grain. The number is up 30% from 46 million bags, or 2.77 million tons in 2017.
The IBGE said one of the reasons for a bigger output is that coffee crops are usually bigger one year and smaller in the next. It also said rainfall in key producing regions and bigger investment in crop care all played a role.
The forecast is in line with a 24.4% hike in coffee exports year-on-year in November, according to the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé). November coffee exports amounted to 3.68 million bags, including green beans, soluble, and ground and roast coffee.
Arabica-type coffee is expected to be up 28.2% from a year ago, while Robusta coffee should be up 30.4%. Production rebounded in the states of Espírito Santo (up 53%) and Bahia (up 15.7%). Both are major Robusta coffee producers which had struggle with a water deficit over the past few years.
November saw output decline year-on-year in the states of Rondônia, down 1.2%, and Minas Gerais, down 12.3%.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
