Sílvio Ávila
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Difference in cost
Higher prices paid to producers do not always translate intomore profits for the coffee farmers. A survey conducted in 10mu-
nicipalities of the main Arabica coffee producing regions concluded that the total average cost remained at R$ 480.74 per sack in
2016. The study was carried out by the Brazilian Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA), jointly with the Market Intelli-
gence Center of the Federal University of Lavras (CIM/Ufla).
The Total Costs (TC) of the Arabica coffee producing municipalities varied according to the local production conditions, R$
401.77 per sack in Luís Eduardo Magalhães (BA) to R$ 535.10 per sack in Guaxupé (MG). The climate favored productivity in the
majority of the municipalities covered by the survey, varying from 30 to 50 sacks per hectare in the 2016 season. “The effect of
the economies of scale, along with the good prices fetched in the 2016 crop year, greatly favored the economic results in the Ar-
abica regions as a whole”, the researchers concluded.
Thecropmaynothaveyieldedthatmuchinthe
caseofconilon,butthegoodpricesofcoffee
encouragedthefarmersandrewardedtheirpockets
G
reen coffee is traded at higher
prices in 2016, if compared to
the average values practiced
in the previous year. Even Ar-
abica coffee, which registered
a record volume, fetched better prices be-
cause of smaller conilon, or Robusta, vol-
umes in 2016, or in the 2016/17 crop year.
The average nominal value of type 6 Ara-
bica coffee, hard cup or better, in São Pau-
lo, reached R$ 501.80 per 60-kg sack, up R$
57.76 from the average value of R$ 454.04
fetched in 2015, according to the Center for
Applied Studies on Advanced Economics
(Cepea) of the Luiz deQueiroz College of Ag-
riculture (Esalq), a division of the Universi-
ty of São Paulo (USP). In the meantime, the
average price of type 6 Robusta coffee re-
mained at R$ 487.60 in Espírito Santo.
Although prices fluctuated in 2016, Ara-
bica coffee experiencedmore liquidity com-
pared to Robusta, due to the higher amount
available for negotiation, say Cepea analyst
team members. During the year, type 6 Ar-
abica coffee, in São Paulo, varied from R$
450.15 to R$ 577.74 per sack, that is to say,
almost a difference of R$ 130 per sack. Real
conilon coffee price increases in the domes-
tic and foreign market took place in 2016.
Cepea officials confirm that for the first time
average conilon quotes surpassed Arabica
prices. In the second half of October 2016,
Robusta type 6, screen 13, available in the
State of Espírito Santo, outstripped by R$
13.17 per sack type 6 Arabica coffee, hard
cup or better, in the capital city São Paulo.
From March to November 2016, Robusta
quotes soared, as a result of the shortage of
beansinthenationalscenario.Inmid-August,
theCepea Indicator surpassedR$500per 60-
kgsackandstartedtoregisteralmostdailyre-
cords of the series of the Center, which start-
Itwasgood
for the
pocket
For the first time in history,
average conilon prices
outstripped Arabica prices
