Brazil sets record for coffee exports in September

In September of this year, Brazil exported 3.8 million bags of green, instant, and roasted & ground coffee. The volume represents the largest quantity of Brazilian coffee exported for the month and an increase of 8.6% in relation to September 2019. The foreign exchange revenue generated by exports reached US$ 458 million, also representing an increase, of 3.6 %, compared to the same period last year.  When converting into reais, revenue was equivalent to R$ 2.5
billion, up 35.7% in relation to September 2019. The average price of a sack of coffee was US$ 120.7 / bag. The data is are from CECAFÉ – Council of Coffee Exporters in Brazil.

In terms of varieties, in September, arabica coffee corresponded to 74.8% of the total volume exported, or 2.8 million bags. Conilon coffee accounted for 17.7% of the exports, or 672,500 which was 93.8% more than the volume exported in September 2019. Instant coffee represented 7.5% of exports, equivalent to 283,100 bags.

“We are very satisfied with the results of coffee exports in September. We set a sales record in relation to the same month in previous years and we also had a significant increase in total revenue in reais. We also observed that the results could have been even better, in the order of 10 to 15%, had it not been for the logistical problems of lack of containers and free space on the vessels. The month of September also marks the effective entry of the 2020/2021 harvest, registering an excellent performance in both quantity and quality”, says Nelson Carvalhaes, president of Cecafé.

DataLiner data shows a container imbalance of almost 80,000 units in August.  There were almost 251,000 containers leaving the country and only 172,000 containers arriving.  In January, 216,000 containers were registered entering and 201,000 leaving. This container imbalance had a negative effect on coffee exports.

See the following graph for the history of monthly Brazilian coffee exports since 2017:

Calendar Year
The total coffee exported in the calendar year (January to September 2020) was 30.5 million bags, with foreign exchange revenue of US$ 3.9 billion, or R$ 19.6 billion. Revenue in reais grew 31.7% compared to the period from January to September 2019 and the average price in the period was US $ 126.8, an increase of 1.4% in relation to the period from January to September and 2019.

Among the varieties shipped in the calendar year, robusta coffee also was highlighted due to its 22.3% increase in exports when compared to the volume of the variety exported from January to September last year. Conilon coffees corresponded to 12.2% of the total volume exported in the period, with 3.7 million bags. Arabica coffee had a 77.9% share in exports, with 23.8 million bags, while soluble coffee accounted for 9.8% of shipments, with 3 million bags.

Top destinations
The main destinations for Brazilian coffee in 2020 were, respectively: United States, which imported 5.6 million bags of coffee (18.5% of the total shipped in the period); Germany, importing 5.1 million bags (16.9%); Belgium, importing 2.4 million bags (7.8%); Italy, importing 2.3 million bags (7.4%); Japan, with 1.5 million bags (5.1%); Turkey, with 960,800 bags (3.2%); the Russian Federation, with 940,500 bags (3.1%); Mexico, with 782,200 bags (2.6%); Spain, with 700,000 bags (2.3%); and Canada, with 624,200 bags (2%).

Among them, Mexico, the Russian Federation and Belgium stood out, increasing by 19% their imports of the Brazilian product.

Among the continents and economic blocs, exports to South American countries increased by 24.1%; exports to African countries increased by 53.9%; exports to Central America increased by 90.6%; exports to BRICS countries increased by 25.7%, exports to Eastern Europe increased by 24.1%, and there was a 37.6% increase in shipments to coffee-producing countries. There was also a 60.7% increase in Brazilian green coffee exports to producer countries during the period, equivalent to 1.5 million bags.

Differentiated Coffees
In the calendar year, Brazil exported 5.1 million bags of differentiated coffees (which are coffees that have superior quality or some type of sustainable practices certificate), the second largest volume shipped for the period in the last five years. The volume represents a 16.8% share of the total coffee exported this year and the foreign exchange revenue generated from the export of differentiated coffees from Brazil was US$ 834.6 million, or 21.6% of the total value of exports in the year 2020.

The main destinations for differentiated coffees were, respectively: the USA, which imported 1 million bags (20.1% of the total volume shipped in the calendar year); Germany, with 726,800 bags (14.2% share); Belgium, with 625,600 bags (12.2%); Japan, with 420,000 bags (8.2%); Italy, with 354,400 bags (6.9%); Spain, with 196,400 bags (3.8%); United Kingdom, with 194,600 bags (3.8%); and Sweden, with 168,800 bags.

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