Brazil set a new record for coffee exports in 2019, reaching 91.96 thousand tons, about 4 million 60 kg bags. This represents a 7% increase compared to 2018, when foreign sales reached 85.97 thousand tons, equivalent to 3.72 million bags.

Out of the 106 countries that bought Brazilian coffee, the United States leads the ranking, purchasing 17% of the total. In 2019, 15.3 thousand tons were acquired by the US compared to 14.8 thousand tons in 2018, an 3.1% increase, according to data from the Pesquisa Café Consortium, coordinated by Embrapa Café. The report was prepared by the Brazilian Coffee Industry Association (ABICS).

After the US, come Russia, Indonesia and Japan. However, when considering the sum of imports by European Union (EU) countries, the bloc takes second place, and registered significant growth of 22.9% last year.

Expansion

Other countries also recorded a significant increase in the purchase of Brazilian coffee. Indonesia – the fourth largest coffee producer in the world – increased imports by 2.9%, becoming the third largest destination for Brazilian exports. Myanmar increased its purchases by 61.4%. The highlight however was Mexico – the world’s second largest coffee producer, second only to Brazil – which increased its imports of Brazilian coffee by about 315%.

According to the report, the expansion of Brazilian exports can be attributed, in part, to a regaining of markets that had been lost after Brazil could not service them in 2016 and 2017. At that time climate problems in the state of Espírito Santo led to a sharp drop in the production of conilon coffee.

Revenues Down

The record volumes exported in 2019 did not translate to increased revenue however, which saw a slight decrease. The US$ 581.7 million represents a 3% fall compared to the US$ 599.8 million registered the previous year. The fall was a direct consequence of low coffee prices in international markets over period analyzed by Embrapa Café.

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