São Paulo – Brazilian coffee exports to Arab countries rose 10% from January to September of this year over the same period of 2017. In all, the country shipped out 1,016,265 60-kg bags to the Arab market, with USD 147.4 million in revenues, a drop of 4.35% in the same comparison. The volume meant a 4% share in Brazil’s total exports. The data was shown this Wednesday (10) by the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (CECAFÉ).
The data shows a recovery in exports. Year-to-date until August, exports to the Arab countries had been in decline. From January to August, the country shipped out 781,027 bags, down 2% over 2017’s first eight months.
Among the top Arab importers of Brazilian coffee are Saudi Arabia, with 13,299 bags in September, with revenues at USD 2.22 million in the month; and the United Arab Emirates, with 8,084 bags, with USD 1.2 million in revenues.
In September, Brazil exported 3.02 million coffee bags. In this figure are included green, instant, roasted and ground coffee. In volume, exports rose 24% over September of 2017, when the country exported 2.4 million bags. Revenues in the month reached USD 410.3 million, up 0.7% over September of last year.
From January to September of 2018, the country exported 23.6 million bags, a 7.3% hike in comparison to the same period of last year. In this case, revenues declined 6% to USD 3.5 billion. “We had a good volume of coffee exports. However, we believe we could have shipped out 10% to 15% more if not for the issues of lack of containers and space in vessels,” said Nelson Carvalhaes, CECAFÉ’s president, in a statement by the council. In this regard, CECAFÉ states that it has been in contact with the National Agency for Waterway Transportation (ANTAQ), seeking to normalize the country’s coffee outflow.
The exports of the Arabica variety rose 14.9% in the month over September of 2017, accounting for 81% of total exports (2.4 million bags). Meanwhile, exports of the Robusta variety surged 1091.6% and reached a 9.7% share of the month’s exports (291,600 bags). Year-to-date until September, exports of the Robusta variety, also called Conilon, had increased 782.6%. And exports of instant coffee remained the same, with a share of 9.3% of total exports (280,300 bags).
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
