SAO PAULO – Brazilian coffee exports to the Arab countries increased by 36% in volume in 2013, according to a report released on Monday (13) by the Brazilian Coffee Exporters’ Council (Cecafé). According to the study, between January and December 2013, Brazil shipped 1.49 million 60-kilo bags of green coffee to the region.
Revenues with these shipments reached US$ 222.9 million, which is higher than the sum obtained in 2012, of US$ 210.8 million. The same report shows that sales to the European Union increased by 9% and shipments to the Mercosur dropped by 16% in the period.
Director at Império Café, coffee exporter in the city of Colatina, in the southeastern Brazilian state of Espírito Santo, Henry Stefenoni states that exports to the Arab countries increased because there is a greater demand in these nations for the product. “I believe the relationship between the countries in that region and Brazil is stronger, which encourages coffee exports,” he said.
According to Henry, Império Café’s sales to the region also increased by 30% in 2013 and he expects to maintain a good volume in shipments this year. “The Arab country that purchased the most was Jordan. In general, importers bought the product for consumption in the country itself, and not for resale,” stated Henry.
Greater volume, lower revenue
According to the information issued by Cecafé, Brazilian coffee exports increased in volume in 2013, there was a high by 10.2% in relation to 2012, and the total volume shipped reached 31.2 million 60-kilo bags. The revenue obtained with exports, however, declined. In 2013, sales added up to US$ 5.15 billion.
In the previous year exports reached US$ 6.36 billion. In the announcement made by Cecafe, the director-general of the institution, Guilherme Braga, states that exports are recovering “in terms of volume”, because the country went back to exporting above than the 30 million bags mark.
Braga also observed that the sales of “differentiated”, better quality coffee increased. In 2013, exports of this type of coffee increased by 5% in comparison to 2012, reaching 5.061 million 60-kilo bags. In general, 85% of the coffee exported by Brazil in 2013 was Arabica, 10.7% was soluble coffee, 4.2% was of the Robusta variety and 0.1% was ground and toasted coffee. Cecafé expects exports to reach between 32 million and 33 million 60-kilo bags in 2014.
Among the main buyer markets, the United States is in the lead, having imported 6.14 million bags last year, an increase by 14.96% over 2012. The country was followed by Germany, Japan, Italy, Belgium, Russia, Spain, Slovenia, France and England. In terms of regions, the main buyers were the countries in Europe, followed by North America, Asia, South America, Africa, Central America and Oceani
Source: Brazilian-Arab News Agency
