Brazil Exports Record 4.5 Million Bags of Coffee in September, Despite logistics: CeCafe
Brazil Exports Record 4.5 Million Bags of Coffee in September, Despite logistics: CeCafe
Bogota (Coffee Network) – Brazil, the world’s largest producer of coffee, exported 4.464 million 60 kg bags of coffee in September 2024, a record volume for this month, and up by 33.3% on the year when 3.348 million bags were shipped, according to the latest data from the Brazil Coffee Export Association (CeCafe).
In January to September, Brazil exported a record 36.428 million bags of 60-kg, representing an increase of 38.7% compared to the 26.264 million registered in the first nine months of 2023.
Coffee export income in 2024 is also the highest in history, at US$ 8.451 billion, which represents an increase of 51.9% compared to the US$ 5.563 billion accumulated last year through September, CeCafe added.
In the first quarter of the 2024/25 crop year, shipments of the product abroad totaled 12.050 million bags, generating US$ 3.105 billion for the country. Compared to the figures compiled between July and September 2023, this performance represents increases of 19.7% in volume and 54.7% in revenue.
Arabica coffee, with 26.397 million bags shipped abroad between January and September, continues to be the largest export type of Brazilian coffee. This volume is the largest in history for this nine-month period, corresponding to 72.5% of the total and representing a 26.6% increase compared to the first nine months of last year.
The canephora species (conilon + robusta) comes next and is the main highlight of shipments in 2024, with a record shipment of 7.037 million bags abroad. This amount represents a substantial growth of 170.4% compared to 2023 and increases its representativeness to 19.3% of the total.
The soluble coffee segment, with 2.961 million bags – an increase of 6.8% and 8.1% overall –, and the roasted and roasted and ground product, with 33,349 bags (-14% and 0.1% representativeness), complete the list.
Logistic Troubles
Despite the significant volumes recorded, the president of Cecafé, Márcio Ferreira, said the export sector continues to face critical problems in logistics, which intensified in the second half of the year, with a lack of structure and space in Brazilian ports and a greater demand for shipping containers, especially for coffee, sugar and cotton
There are almost 2 million bags accumulated unable to exit the country, CeCafe added.
“Unfortunately, there has been no change in the logistics scenario, and we continue to face major and constant delays in export ships, limited opening times for gates, overcrowded port yards and cargo arriving from the field that cannot be dispatched, generating high additional costs for exporters”, he reveals.
“This scenario – he adds – results in the non-shipment this year of approximately 2 million bags of coffee, which are accumulated in ports, increasing the losses of exporting companies and the non-inflow of millions of dollars in revenue to Brazil”.
The president of Cecafé explains that the impressive performance of shipments is mainly justified by the efforts of the exporters' logistics teams and the entity's continued dialogue with the port terminals, in the hope of mitigating these obstacles and optimizing the export process, given the ongoing logistical bottlenecks, with high rates of ship delays, regular cargo rollovers, short gate opening times and a lack of windows.
“Exporters are literally paying for this performance, because the situation in Brazilian ports has not improved and they continue to face major challenges. In addition to the lower inflow of foreign currency in the country's commercial transactions, exporting companies are being impacted by high extra costs for additional storage, pre-stacking, detention and early gates, but they continue to honor their commitment to their international customers,” says Ferreira.
Main Destinations
The United States is the main destination for Brazilian coffee in 2024. The country imported 5.770 million bags from January to September, which is equivalent to 15.8% of all exports and implies a growth of 31.9% compared to the first nine months of last year.
Germany, with 14.7% of representation, acquired 5.359 million bags (+70.8%) and occupies second place in the ranking. Next comes Belgium, with the import of 3.328 million bags (+131.5%); Italy, with 3.021 million bags (+47.3%); and Japan, with 1.633 million bags (-3.1%).
Analyzing shipments made to other producing countries, the numbers recorded for Mexico stand out, which increased its purchases of Brazilian product by 169.3% in 2024.
Vietnam, the world's second largest producer, continues to increase its purchases of national coffees to honor its commitments and comes next in line with the Mexicans.
Between January and September, the Vietnamese – which lead the global production of robusta – imported 637,546 bags, which represents a substantial growth of 374.8% compared to the same period in 2023. Of this total, 484,777 bags were robusta, reinforcing that Brazilian coffee has been used by the Asian country to meet the demand it receives.
Among the producing countries that bought the most coffee from Brazil, India saw a 475.7% increase, increasing its purchases from 33,856 bags last year to 194,896 bags from January to September.
Specialty Coffee
Coffees with superior quality or certified sustainable practices account for 18.2% of total Brazilian exports of the product between January and September 2024, with 6.643 million bags shipped abroad. This volume is 51.6% higher than that recorded in the first nine months of last year.
The average price of the product was US$254.67 per bag, generating foreign exchange revenue of US$1.692 billion, which corresponds to 20% of the total coffee shipments in the nine-month period. In the annual comparison, the value is 62.9% higher than that recorded in the same nine months of 2023.
In the ranking of the main destinations for special coffees, between January and September of this year, the USA remains in the lead, purchasing 1.548 million bags, equivalent to 23.3% of the total of this type of product exported.
Ports
The Port of Santos is the main exporter of Brazilian coffee between January and September 2024, with 24.682 million bags, or 67.8% of the total. Next comes the port complex of Rio de Janeiro, which accounts for 28.6% of shipments by sending 10.419 million bags abroad, and the Port of Vitória (ES), which exported 314,936 bags, representing 0.9%.
By Diana Delgado
