0São Paulo – Brazilian coffee exports reached US$ 461 million in September, down 44% from the same month in 2011. A total of 2,222,799 60-kilogram bags were shipped, down 24% using the same basis of comparison, according to figures released this Monday (8th) by the Brazilian Coffee Exporter Council (Cecafé, in the Portuguese acronym).
From July to September – the first quarter of the 2012-2013 crop season –, exports reached US$ 1.427 billion, down 34% from the same period of the preceding season. Shipments amounted to 6,940,954 bags, down 12.4% using the same basis of comparison.
Cecafé director general Guilherme Braga cites two reasons for the poor performance, according to a press statement released by the organization. “The first one is that the 2012-2013 crop had a delay in product preparation and market entry, due to rains in producing regions. The second reason is that the customs officers strike wound up compromising capacity at terminals and caused imported cargoes to pile up, slowing down the outflow of coffee and other products to the target countries,” he said.
Year-to-date in 2012, the main target regions for Brazilian coffee were, in this order, Europe, North America, Asia and South America. In terms of countries, the leading importers were United States, Germany, Italy, Japan and Belgium.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum