Brazil coffee exports jump 20pc in January

SAO PAULO: Brazil exported 3.05 million 60-kg bags of green coffee in January, a record volume for the month and 20.3 pct more than for the same period last year, exporters association Cecafé said on Monday.

Volumes have been rising consistently since mid-2018 because of a record coffee crop of more than 60 million bags last year in the world's largest producer and exporter of the commodity.

Cecafé said it expects to maintain large export volumes in coming months due to ample supplies of good quality product.

Of total shipments, 2.91 million bags were of the arabica type, 15 percent more than last season at this time.

Exporters shipped 138,537 bags of robusta, a variety widely used to make instant coffee, sharply up from January last year when Brazil was basically absent from the global robusta trade due to scarce supplies.

Cecafé also reported shipments of 236,644 bags of soluble coffee in January.

While shipments are rising, the average price per exported bag fell to $133.53 from $160.95 in January last year, as global prices for coffee hover around the lowest levels in 12 years due to a global supply surplus.