Brazil firm itself as the largest producer
and the world’
s largest exporter of coffee
Sílvio Ávila
10
B
razil is viewed as the biggest
and best success case in the
world of coffee. Ever since the
crop was brought to the Coun-
try, in 1727, 290 years have
passed.Coffeefarmingaccountsforthegen-
erationofupwardsof8millionjobpositions,
either direct or indirect. Recent data consol-
idated by the National Food Supply Agen-
cy (Conab) show record production of 51.37
million 60-kg sacks of Arabica and conilon
(Robusta) in2016, or 2016/17 crop year. Dur-
ing the same year, 20.5million sacks should
be destined for the domestic market and
34.3 million for consumers abroad. Private
and public stocks are maintained to meet
demand, should one or more harvests be
insufficient. Gross revenue from coffee
amounted to R$ 25.31 billion in 2016.
These results distinguish Brazil as the
biggest coffee producer and exporter in the
world, besides being the second biggest
consumer of the beverage, coming only af-
ter theUnitedStates. Brazil has always been
the leading producer and exporter of coffee,
notes Nelson Carvalhaes, president of the
Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (CECafé).
Just one peculiarity demonstrates to what
extent Brazilian coffee farming has been
evolving over the years. The planted area,
which once occupied 4.9 million hectares,
now reaches 2.2 million hectares. However,
production has never stopped growing, and
a record cropwas harvested in 2016.
One of the innovations consisted in in-
creasing theproductivity of the fields, which
registeredahistorical averageof 26.33 sacks
(60 kg) per hectares in the year in question.
This was possible with the adoption and in-
vestment in technology. A good example is
the Coffee Research Consortium.
IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION
Brazilian coffee farming business would
Althoughregisteringrecordcoffeeproduction
andproductivityin2016,Brazilenduredconilon
lossesfromadverseclimateconditions
Bright
brilliance
have registered even better results in 2016 if
coniloncoffeehadnotendureda25-percent
drop in production. The fields of this variety
were affected by drought conditions in the
states of Espírito Santo and Rondônia, ma-
jor producers. The dry weather conditions
had equally jeopardized the production of
Arabica in 2015 and 2014. For the 2017/18
crop year, Conab officials are forecasting a
smaller crop of up to 47.5 million sacks, as
a result of the “off-year” in Arabica coffee’s
biennial cycle. Furthermore, stocked vol-
umes are low. In April 2017, Conabwas con-
ducting a survey of theprivate stocks, which
couldnot include thebeansof thenewcrop,
nor could they include public stocks.
In light of this reality, much heed is
paid to the capacity of the coffee farm-
ers to meet customer needs at home and
abroad. Incidentally, the authorization to
import Robusta coffee fromVietnam, gave
rise to heated debates between the coffee
farmers and industries in late 2016 and
early 2017. Imports did not materialize
thanks to growers’ mobilization. In addi-
tion, it should not be overlooked that cof-
fee consumption is on the rise around the
globe. It is good for Brazil.
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