São Paulo – Revenues from Brazilian coffee exports to Arab countries stood at US$ 127.3 million from January to July, up 6% from the same period last year, according to figures supplied by the Brazilian Coffee Exporter Council (Cecafé). Exports amounted to 765,100 60-kilogram bags of coffee, up nearly 30% using the same basis of comparison.
Sales to the region increased in both volume and revenues, unlike overall exports from Brazil during the period, which grew in volume but decreased in price. To Cecafé CEO Guilherme Braga, this has probably taken place because Arab countries are buying more product directly from Brazil, and less from intermediaries in other countries.
“This is a consequence of product flow, they are buying more coffee directly from Brazil,” the executive told ANBA. “The [import] volume has varied greatly from one year to the next, the countries of origin have changed,” he added.
Braga noted that several Arab countries are traditional importers of Brazilian coffee, such as Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia and Jordan. These four countries are the leading importers of green coffee seeds from Brazil in the region. Saudi Arabia is the leading buyer of soluble coffee.
Overall, Brazilian coffee exports amounted to slightly over US$ 3 billion from January through July, down 13.6% from the same period last year. Sales amounted to 17 million bags, up 15.7% using the same basis of comparison.
According to the Cecafé CEO, coffee prices were down 25% on the international market since the year started. In the last 24-month period, prices have plummeted by 45%. Hence the decline in export revenues, despite the increase in shipped volume.
This was the case because several producing countries, mostly Asian ones, have greatly increased their output over the past few years. “This production surplus has driven prices down somewhat,” said Braga. Besides, he noted that the leading markets for coffee – like Europe, United States, and Japan – are performing poorly, and that tends to stem the demand.
According to him, this process has been going on for three years, but there are signs that it is about to end. As prices fell, so did production and crop investment, and this should ultimately “help fix” prices, Braga believes.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
