Mills in Brazil's centre-south produced 23pc less sugar in the second half of March versus a year ago, as operations in the new sugar season got off to a slow start.
Price controls for coffee were mostly abandoned years ago due to the difficulty of reaching global agreements on supply, exposing farmers to sharp price crashes. In 2019, the world's third-largest producer, Colombia, introduced subsidies for coffee growers and, along with Brazil, called for supply caps.
Lopez Obrador has authorized price floors for other agricultural commodities, including Mexico's staple corn, but has to yet to carry through on most of his coffee campaign promises.