The traditional element of competitiveness is the coffee production costs in Brazil, which determines the comparative advantages of this country compared to others. The Brazilian climate conditions seem to have been made for the plantation of the grain. But the Brazilian coffee production is based on quantitative parameters, what gave the country the image of a producer of a bad quality coffee.
However, influenced by the growing demand for the so-called special coffees, producers are currently investing in the production of a more elaborated variety, specially in the South of Brazil, where the weather is milder.
The Brazilian coffee is mostly exported as:
- Green coffee
- Soluble coffee
- Roasted and ground coffee
- Concentrated and essential extracts
- Coffee residues
The largest buyers of the Brazilian coffee worldwide are: Germany, United States, Italy, Japan and Belgium (in ascending order). An important institution regulating the coffee exports is the Cecafé (Coffee Exporters Council).
An ever-growing internal market
Numbers show that Brazilians never get tired of their coffees. Brazil is not only the first exporter of coffee worldwide, but it’s also one of the drink’s largest consumer. The internal consumption of coffee is non-stop growing, what can be proved by some numbers. The population’s intake of coffee increased from 8.2 million bags, in 1990, to 20 million bags, by the first months of 2012.
A survey made by IBGE revealed that coffee is the most consumed product on a daily basis by the Brazilian population above 10 years old. That represents 79.7 liters of coffee drank per inhabitant during a year. Quite amazing no?
The coffee consumed inside the country is the worst of its production, as the finest crops are destined to exportation. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why the coffee Brazilians drink on a daily basis is cheap and popular, costing around BRL 2.00 a cup or BRL 5.00 half a kilo of the powder bought in supermarkets. Most of the people here find absurd to spend much more than that only to enjoy a cup of coffee.
Also, people here are resistant in leaving their day-to-day black coffee behind. The most accepted variation is adding some milk to make the super popular “média”. Even the machine coffee finds some resistance from Brazilians. Also, a lot of people still turn up their noses to the Frapuccinos, Mochas, Caramels, Fruited, Macadamia, Frozens, Iced, Cinnamon, Nuts, whip creamed coffees, among other creative (and strange) coffee recipes with odd names that are so popular abroad.
However, even though the massive majority of Brazilians don’t care about the type of coffee they are drinking, as long as it’s strong and black, the niche market of expensive high-quality coffees is growing in some parts of the country, revealing a promissing area, in which several companies are already investing and succeeding.
The gourmet coffee market is concentrated in the largest cities of the country, mainly fed by multinational franchises coffee machine sellers that managed to well-advertize their products, to the point of creating a new culture of coffee in Brazil, but still with restricted range to a specific profile of consumer.
A brief introduction to ABIC
Café: não basta ser puro, tem que ser de qualidade (Coffee: it’s not enough to be pure, it must be of high quality)
The ABIC (Brazilian Coffee Industry Association) was created in 1973 and represents the most important regulatory institution of the coffee industry. Its operations integrate industries, retail and consumption units. The institution counts with several programs focusing on the purity, quality of Brazilian coffee and, more recently, the sustainability in the coffee fields.
Currently, ABIC has approximately 500 roasting and grinding companies throughout the national territory with headquarters located in Rio de Janeiro. The institution is formed by a Deliberative Council, a Consulting Council and six Executive Boards: Management, Communications, Economics and Finance, Marketing, Quality and Institutional Relations. You can check all the ABIC’s associates in this file
ABIC provides to its associates a complete database with macroeconomic studies, opinion and market polls, aside from sectoral diagnosis, legal guidance in the areas of taxation, labor, constitutional and consumer protection, detailed register of companies, brands and products; statistical information production and consumption, financial advisory and business and technology development information.
The ABIC’s website contains a lot of information about the coffee industry in Brazil. It’s an important research tool for anyone interested in knowing about the segment. Unfortunately, all the information is in Portuguese.
