Rains in June timely hamper Arabica harvesting in Brazil, coffee quality not affected

SAO PAULO, Brazil – It rained in important Arabica – producing regions in Brazil in the first fortnight of June. In some areas, precipitation interrupted the harvesting of the 2021/22 crop, largely in northwestern Paraná and in Garça (SP). Still, Cepea collaborators believe quality will not be affected by the moisture in the last days, since little coffee has been harvested.

Among the regions currently being harvested, activities are most advanced in the Zona da Mata (MG), where something between 10 and 20% had been harvested until June 11.

In Brazil ‘s spot market, the trading pace for Arabica coffee was slow in the first half of the month,

since most farmers were focused on the harvesting. On June 15, the CEPEA/ESALQ Index for arabica coffee (delivered to São Paulo city) closed at 850.96 BRL (168.74 USD)/bag, 3% down from that on May 31.

Robusta

The weather has been favoring the harvesting of robusta crops in Brazil (2021/22 season). In Espírito Santo, Cepea colaborators reported that from 50 to 60% of the expected volume had been harvested until June 11. In Rondônia, that percentage is between 65 and 75%.

Although activities advanced, the amount of coffee arriving at the market in the first fortnight of June was low. Many farmers were focused on delivering the product previously purchased, waiting for prices to rise, based on the arabica crop failure and the high demand for robusta this year.

As regards prices, on June 15, the CEPEA/ESALQ Index for the robusta type 6, screen 13, Espírito Santo, closed at 480.79 BRL (95.34 USD)/bag, 0,9% higher than that on May 31.

Exports

According to data from Cecafé (Coffee Exporters Council), in May, Brazil exported 2.6 million bags of coffee (green, roasted and soluble), a steep 29% down from that in April and 20.3% less than that in May/20. According to Cecafé, the exports decrease reflected logistic issues, such as lack of both containers and room on ships worldwide. Despite this decrease, between July/20 and May/21, Brazilian coffee exports totaled 42.5 million bags, a record in the series of Cecafé.