SAO PAULO: Brazil's food supply agency Conab on Wednesday said it will organize an auction to allow coffee processors to bid for locally produced robusta beans, as the government tries to help roasters and instant coffee producers find supplies of the bean.
Normally, Conab holds auctions of government-held coffee stocks when supplies are scarce but on this occasion the food supply agency said the electronic auction next week is for third-party stocks of coffee.
Conab said in a statement that it will aim to assist with the sale of up to 213,500 60-kg bags of robusta.
The world's largest coffee producer and exporter is struggling with a tight supply of the robusta type this year, after droughts in the last two seasons sharply reduced output in top producing state Espirito Santo.
Brazil's Agriculture Ministry requested that higher levels of the government approve robusta coffee imports from Vietnam, what would be the first time Brazil imports the commodity. But the request is still under evaluation as coffee farmers strongly oppose the move.
Brazil's instant coffee industry says it is losing export deals due to scarce supplies of robusta, the coffee type largely used to produce the drink.
Farmers say there are enough supplies, so the auction next week could be a test of how much robusta is available.
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