SAO PAULO: Harvesting at the farms that make up Brazil's largest coffee cooperative reached 66.4% of expected production by July 12, the quickest pace for this time of the year since at least 2012, Cooxupé said on Tuesday.

The harvest is 20 percentage points ahead of last year's comparable number. Producers say irregular weather this year caused beans to mature early, and necessitated the quicker pace of this year's field work.

Cooxupé is the world's largest coffee cooperative and also Brazil's No. 1 exporter. It mostly operates in the Cerrado and South regions in top producing state Minas Gerais but has also associate farmers in neighboring Sao Paulo state.

The co-op expects to receive 7.6 million bags from its members this year, versus 8.4 million bags in 2018. Brazil's government sees the country as a whole producing 50.9 million bags in 2019, down from 61.6 million bags last season.

See below a comparison of the harvesting pace in the Cooxupé area in the last years.