Counting with the world’s largest production of coffee, Brazil is the most important player in the area. The grain produced in the country feeds an enourmous internal and external market.
Coffee and the History of Brazil
Coffee took an essential part of the Brazilian history. The plant, originally from Etiopia, was first brought to Brazil by some French settlers who established in the state of Pará in the early 18th century. From the North of Brazil, the coffee fields started to spread along the country, concentrating in the areas along the shore. By that time, the sugar cane plantations represented the main economic activity in Brazil and coffee was only an experience that no one could imagine would become the great protagonist of the Brazilian contemporary history.
From 1820, coffee began to occupy the position of the most exported products from Brazil, after the sugar cane started to lose importance in the international markets. The production peaked when the coffee plantations gained the fertile soils of Vale do Paraíba – a region that comprehends part of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states.
Along the 19th century, the Brazilian coffee was the number one filling up the European an American cups and in 1840, Brazil became the largest coffee exporter of the world. The country enriched and a new society is formed, ruled by the so-called “coffee barons”, the wealthy owners of the grain’s plantations.
The “coffee barons” not only detained the economic power in Brazil, but also the political power, first contributing to the Proclamation of the Republic and then strongly influencing and even determining the direction of the country’s future presidents’ elections.
During the coffee era, Brazil experienced a period of great progress, with the agrarian elite investing in bank institutions, infrastructure, railways, credit expansion and industrialization. The money earned from coffee exports was the essential capital that would bring about important changes in the country’s society, economy and culture.
After the abolition of slavery, in 1888, the coffee production almost collapsed. The solution for the lack of labor was the government programs that encouraged European immigrants to work in the Brazilian coffee fields. The European workers added new features to the Brazilian society, accelerating the country’s urbanization and increasing the internal market, what would decisively contribute to the growth of the national industries, changing the face of Brazil forever.
The young Republic was growing and developing by reaping the fruits of its beloved commodity. However, even the steadiest and most profitable economic activities couldn’t survive the Great Depression of 1929 and coffee was no exception. By that time, United States were the largest buyer of the Brazilian coffee, followed by the European countries. The prices plunged, and thousands of coffee bags were burned in Brazil, bringing an uncountable loss to its producers who would never recover.
The changes that Brazil would face during the Republic also contributed to the end of Coffee Era in the country, and together with it, came the decadence of the rural oligarchies’ influence. The commodity and its producers gradually lost its awareness and leadership in the Brazilian economy, preparing the ground for the growth of other economic activities.
Yet, coffee never left its role as an important product for the Brazilian economy. The product remains as one of the most valuable commodities of the country, what we will develop further.
Outlining the Brazilian Coffee Industry and Exports
Brazil is by far the largest producer of coffee in the world, controlling more than 30% of the international production. Coffee is one of the most important agribusiness commodity, maintaining steady and growing value in the stock market. The golden grain was reponsible for 10.2% of the Brazilian exported commodities in 2011. The exports of coffee from the 2011/2012 harvest invoiced USD 7,841 billion, a 5.6% increase compared to 2010. Around 10% of all the coffee exported was the Arabica type, followed by the Robusta variety with 5%.
The coffee industries are spread along 13 Brazilian states, but the largest ones are located in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Bahia, Paraná and Goiás (listed here in order of importance). It is estimated that there are around 300 thousand coffee plantations in the country, spread in 1950 cities.
