Brazil is poised to export a record of nearly 40 million 60-kilo bags of coffee in the current season, including green and industrialized beans, a significant increase from the previous cycle after a strong harvest in 2018, exporters group Cecafé said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the projection, green coffee exports could reach between 36.3 million and 36.6 million bags this cycle, which started last July and will end in June, Cecafé said in a subsequent statement. Cecafé noted green coffee exports rose 40.5 percent in February from a year earlier, ending at 3.142 million 60-kilo bags. The group said 94 percent of last month's sales abroad were of the Arabica variety.
"Everything indicates that if we continue on the current pace, we should close the coffee crop year close to 40 million bags (in total exports), which will be a historical record," said Nelson Carvalhaes, Cecafé president. Carvalhaes said export volumes in both January and February set records for each month as the year started strong.
Brazil, already the world's largest coffee supplier, will boost exports this season thanks to investments in research and technology, which strengthened its position as the world's top seller of the drink, Cecafé said. Total revenue from Brazil's coffee shipments in February was $449.4 million, up 10.6 percent on the year, according to the entity. The main destinations for Brazilian coffee in January and February were Germany, the United States and Italy, according to the Cecafé statement.