SAO PAULO, Brazil – The agents in the Brazilian coffee sector have been monitoring the weather, concerned about the blooming of the 2023/24 crops, says Cepea in its latest report. Thus, the prices for arabica coffee fluctuated widely in the domestic market in the first fortnight of September.
Between August 31st and September 15th, the CEPEA/ESALQ Index for arabica coffee type 6, delivered to São Paulo city, ranged between BRL 1,265.14 per 60-kilo bag (on Sept. 14th) and BRL 1,341.77/bag (on Sept. 1st), a gap of 76 Reais/bag. On Sept. 15th, the arabica Index closed at BRL 1,270.71 (USD 242.36)/bag, 5.47% lower than that on Aug. 31st.
In the Brazilian spot market, the number of deals closed in the first half of the month was low because many agents were away – due to both price fluctuation and the holidays during the period.
Crops
The lack of rains in the Cerrado Mineiro, Southern Minas Gerais, Mogiana and Matas de Minas (Zona da Mata) concerned farmers in the first fortnight of September, since some crops have already bloomed and will depend on rainfall for a proper development. On the other hand, in Garça (SP) and northwestern Paraná, sporadic rains brought some relief to farmers. As for the harvesting of the 2022/23 crop, it has ended in Northwestern PR and in Garça, and is about to end in the remaining producing regions.
Robusta
The domestic prices for robusta coffee remained stable in the first half of the month, reflecting the low number of agents (purchasers and sellers) in the market. For the robusta coffee type 6, screen 13, values stayed around BRL 750/bag. On Sept. 15th, the CEPEA/ESALQ Index (Espírito Santo) for the robusta coffee type 6, screen 13, closed at BRL 745.22 (USD 142.14)/bag, 0.6% up compared to that on Aug. 31st.
In general, farmers have been concerned about the blooming in the 2023/24 season, since rains need to be more frequent for the major blooming to occur. However, in northern Espírito Santo, strong winds were reported in the first half of September, which may have damaged crops.
