Brazilian coffee exports hit record levels in September with 15.4% YoY growth

New data from the recently released DataLiner points out that in September Brazil reached record levels of coffee exports, growing 15.4% year-on-year to reach 13,154 TEU, and an increase of 14.64% compared to 2018. See the chart below:

Brazilian Coffee Exports (HS 0901 and 2101) | Jan 2016 to Sep 2020 | TEU

Source: DataLiner

Even so, these numbers could have been higher, had logistical problems not hindered exports. Datamar data indicates that there was an imbalance of almost 80,000 units in Brazil’s container movement in August. There were almost 251,000 containers leaving the country and only 172,000 arriving. In January, 216,000 containers arrived and 201,000 departed. The devaluation of the real, as well as the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus, boosted a strong flow of exports, but significantly reduced imports. This had an impact on coffee since, unlike other commodities, it is exported in containers.

The President of the Council of Coffee Exporters in Brazil, Nelson Cavalhaes, also points out the lack of containers as one of the limitations of an even greater export of the bean. “We are very satisfied with the results of coffee exports in September. The sales volume set a record in relation to the same month in previous years and, in addition, we had a very significant increase in total revenue in reais. We also observed that the results could have been even 10-15% better had it not been for the logistical problems of a lack of containers and space on the vessels. The month of September also marks the effective entry of the 2020/2021 harvest, showing excellent quantity and quality. Despite the strong challenges generated by the pandemic in 2020, it is important to highlight that the agribusiness coffee chain continues to perform its activities with high quality and sustainability, strictly complying with the safety and protection measures for employees, according to the rules of WHO and the municipal and state public health institutions”, says Carvalhaes.

See the imbalance between exports and imports that caused the lack of containers in the chart below:

Trade Imbalance Brazil | Jan 2010 to Sep 2020 | TEU

Source: DataLiner

Most Brazilian coffee exports reach the world from the port of Santos. In the period from January to September 2020, Santos accounted for 68.8% of exports. Even so, the volume exported by this port was 4% lower than in the first nine months of 2019. Port of Vitória  is the second busiest port for coffee exports and saw grain shipments grow 7% in the period from January to September 2020 compared to the same period in 2019:

Coffee exports (HS 0901 and 2101) by port | Jan to Sep 2019-2020 | TEU

Source: DataLiner

Regarding the main destinations of Brazilian coffee, the United States continues to lead both in the products covered by NCM 0901 (coffee, even roasted or decaffeinated; coffee husks and films; coffee substitutes that contain coffee in any proportion) and 2101 ( extracts, essences and concentrates of coffee, tea or maté and preparations based on these products or on the basis of coffee, tea or maté, roasted chicory, and other roasted coffee substitutes and their extracts, essences and concentrates). Consult the charts below for the main destinations for each type of coffee:

Top 15 Coffee destinations (HS 0901) Exported by Brazil | Jan to Sep 2020 | TEU

Source: DataLiner

Top 15 Coffee destinations (HS 2101) Exported by Brazil | Jan to Sep 2020 | TEU

Source: DataLiner

In the graph below, it is possible to see that in the accumulated exports for January to September 2019 and 2020, 2020 showed a 1% drop in exports of NCM 0901 and a 2% growth in exports of  NCM 2101:

Export Coffee (HS 0901 and 2101) | Jan to Sep 2016-2020 | TEU

Source: DataLiner (To request a DataLiner demo click here)

For the coming months, the trend is for exports to increase. Data released on November 3 by the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex) indicate that in October, Brazilian exports of green coffee reached 225,400 tons (3.75 million bags weighing 60 kg), an increase of 13% compared to the same month of 2019. Also according to Secex, the daily average of Brazilian coffee exports in the first week of November almost doubled in relation to the daily export average of November 2019.

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