Brazil coffee growers say stocks adequate, oppose robusta imports

Coffee farmers in Brazil on Tuesday told government officials they hold around 4 million bags (60-kg) of robusta beans in stocks and that imports of the beans are not necessary. Farmers and politicians from top robusta-producing state Espirito Santo met Brazil's Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi in Brasilia on Tuesday to discuss the robusta supply situation. The government is evaluating whether to import as two years of drought have produced smaller-than-normal local harvests.
Maggi told Reuters last week that he was convinced imports were needed. Producers oppose any imports and said they will present by Friday a report that indicates there are sufficient robusta beans to supply the industry until the next harvest starts around May, according to farmers' representatives and government officials.
Farmers dispute a January projection from government agency Conab which put robusta stocks at a bit more than 2 million bags, a volume the local instant coffee industry says is insufficient to maintain current production levels. "They (farmers) said with a lot of emphasis that some warehouses were not checked," Neri Geller, Brazil's agricultural policy secretary told reporters after the meeting.
Geller said it was agreed that producers would clearly indicate where the 4 million bags are and government personal would check that information. "We are pretty sure about our numbers," the secretary said, however. Brazil is the world's largest producer and exporter of green coffee and also the No.1 shipper of instant coffee. There was a record arabica crop in 2016, but the soluble coffee industry says it is suffering from thin robusta offers due to drought in Esp?rito Santo.
Arabica coffees are usually used to produce ground roasted brands, while the robusta type is largely used for instant coffee. Brazil produced a record 42 million 60-kg bags arabica crop in 2016, but robusta output fell to 8 million bags, the smallest since 2004.
Brazil does not allow coffee imports on the grounds that they could expose local coffee fields to diseases. Eventual imports would likely come from Vietnam, the world's top robusta producer. The Agriculture Ministry is considering a proposal to let the industry import around 1 million bags in the next three to four months.