CoffeeNetwork (New York) – In June, more than 453,000 bags of coffee were unable to ship due to the exhaustion of port infrastructure. As a result, the country lost R $1 billion in foreign exchange revenue and exporters had spent R$3 million for the additional storage costs.
Brazil was unable to ship 453,864 60-kg bags, equivalent to 1,375 containers, of coffee, according t a survey carried out by the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé) with its members. The non-shipment was due to the exhaustion of the port infrastructure in the country and, as a result, exporters had a loss of R$ 3.002 million with extra costs including additional storage.
Since June 2024, when the entity started this survey, Cecafé's member companies have accumulated losses of R$ 78.921 million with these unforeseen expenses due to delays and changes in ship calls and the outdated structure in the main ports of Brazil.
The non-shipment of this volume of coffee also prevented the country from receiving US$ 184.183 million, or R$ 1.022 billion, in foreign exchange, considering the average Free on Board (FOB) export price of US$ 405.81 per bag (green coffee) and the average dollar of R$ 5.5465 last month.
"The new coffee crop, mainly canephora (conilon + robusta), is gradually starting to arrive for export and, as the structure of the ports has not improved, we have already noticed an increase of about 100,000 bags in the total volume that did not get shipped compared to May. This scenario tends to worsen, as the main flow of coffee exports is now taking place in the second half of the year, with the arrival of new coffees, including the Arabica crop", explains Eduardo Heron, technical director of Cecafé.
"The government has announced a series of investments, which are undoubtedly positive, but which will require, under normal conditions, at least five years to be completed. The problem is that we need emergency actions, which enable immediate improvements because the agribusiness sectors that demand containers continue to evolve and demand more and more structure from the ports", he analyzes.
Cecafé's technical director recalls that the off-season for several commodities helped reduce pressure on terminals and other challenges the first half of 2025, "however, as there was no increase in the capacity of port terminals, the challenges will intensify in the second half of the year."
In June 2025, 49% of ships, or 151 out of a total of 306 vessels, had delays or changes in calls at the main ports in Brazil, according to the Detention Zero Bulletin (DTZ), prepared by the startup ElloX Digital in partnership with Cecafé.
The Port of Santos, which accounted for 80% of coffee shipments in the first half of this year, recorded a 59% rate of delay or change in ship calls, which involved 95 of the total of 161 container ships. The longest waiting time last month was 37 days at the Santos pier.
Also last month, only 7% of the boarding procedures had a period longer than four days of open gate by ships in the port of Santos. Another 60% had between three and four days and 33% had less than two days.
The port complex of Rio de Janeiro (RJ), the second largest exporter of coffees in Brazil, with a 15.7% share of shipments from January to the end of June 2025, had a delay rate of 57% last month, with the longest interval being 20 days between the first and last deadline. This percentage indicates that 34 of the 60 ships destined for shipments of the product suffered a change in stopovers.
Also in the first half of this year, 43% of export procedures had a deadline of more than four days of open gate by container ships in the ports of Rio de Janeiro; 37% recorded between three and four days; and 21% had less than two days.
Alexis Rubinstein
