SAO PAULO, Brazil — Liquidity was low in the Brazilian coffee market in the first fortnight of December. International price drops pressed down arabica and robusta quotes in Brazil, driving agents away from the market, says Cepea in its latest report.
On December 14, the CEPEA/ESALQ Index for arabica coffee type 6 (delivered in São Paulo) closed at 418.50 BRL (107.23 USD) per 60-kilo bag, 3.25% down compared to that on November 30.
For robusta, the CEPEA/ESALQ Index for the robusta type 6, screen 13, EspÃrito Santo State, closed at 302.39 BRL (77.48 USD) per 60-kilo bag on Dec. 14, 7.12% down in the same comparison.
Field
As the end of the year approaches and the trading pace slows down, arabica and robusta coffee growers are even more focused on the 2019/20 season. Brazilian crops are developing well and almost all of them are in the fruitlet stage. The crops from some robusta-producing regions in EspÃrito Santo and Rondônia States are already in the beans-filling stage.
Thus, farmers are currently focused on farming practices, such as top dressing. With the steep price drops for coffee along with fertilizers valuation, many farmers still need to purchase inputs for the next farming practices, but their purchase power has decreased.
In that scenario, inputs purchases are late and farmers have opted for lower-priced brands – however, farming practices are still being conducted. For the coming months, the agents consulted by Cepea seem to be worried, mainly those who grow arabica.
With positive expectations regarding the 2019/20 output, due to favorable weather, coffee prices may keep lower than in previous crops with negative biennial cycle, which could limit farming practices this season.
