Brazil's south-eastern coffee regions passed through a chilly night without frost, four co-operatives said on Wednesday, after a freeze the previous night that reached a comparatively small number of farms. Weather forecaster Somar said temperatures would keep rising in the coming days in the coffee zones of the world's top grower, but fall sharply again next week. It did not expect any frost despite "critical temperatures" expected next week.
The main Minas Gerais coffee belt was frost-free overnight despite a warning by forecaster Climatempo of a small chance of weak frost. Agronomist Joaquim Goulart from co-operative Cooxupe in Minas, said there were no reports frost had hit. However, he said the co-operative had begun receiving reports from two of its regions, Sao Pedro da Uniao and Botelhos, that they had also seen damage from the previous night's frost despite their fairly high altitude.
In the northern Parana region that was hit harder by Tuesday morning's frost, agronomist Moacir Andrade from the Cocari co-operative said temperatures were warmer overnight and there were no reports of frost on coffee farms. The Cooparaiso co-operative in northern Sao Paulo state said it did not believe any frost reached coffee farms there overnight. Co-operatives will need several days to work out the total area that was hit by Tuesday morning's frost and also how much damage it did to trees, but initial reports suggest it is unlikely to have a major effect on next year's coffee crop.
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