04/11/2022 - Source: Cecafé Communication

According to data from the monthly statistical report of the Council of Coffee Exporters of Brazil (Cecafé), national shipments of the product totaled 3.622 million bags of 60 kg in March, a volume that implies a reduction of 6% compared to the same month of 2021. In revenue, however, there was a growth of 69.3% in the same comparison, with the value reaching U$ 865.1 million.

The entity's president, Nicolas Rueda, reveals that the March result reflects the expressive drop of 64.6% in shipments of canéforas coffees, which totaled 123,437 bags. “With the high price levels of Arabica, both domestically and abroad, Brazilian industries have rearranged their blends and have been using more conilon ( robust ), whose prices are lower”, he explains.

Arabica coffee exports advanced almost 1% last month, to 3.142 million bags, even in the middle of the coffee off-season in Brazil, standing out as the best result in the last five years.

“Given the lower availability of coffee at this time, the slight advance observed is the result of the gradual improvement in the logistics scenario, which has been enabling shipments scheduled for the month in addition to the loads retained in previous months. However, it is essential to highlight that the logistical situation is still far from normal, demanding many challenges for exporters”, he comments.

2021/22 CROP
With last month's performance, shipments in the accumulated crop year reached 30.256 million bags, down 16.5% compared to the 36.227 million bags exported between July 2020 and March 2021. In revenue, there was an increase of 29.5%, with the value jumping from US$ 4.555 billion to US$ 5.901 billion.

The president of Cecafé analyzes that, despite the drop, the current performance is positive, especially considering the obstacles that Brazilian exporters continue to face.

“We are in the off-season and with a lower supply in the current cycle, we continue with logistical bottlenecks and, more recently, shipments have been impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. Even so, shipments in the 2021/22 season are identical to those recorded in the same nine months of the 2019/20 crop, the last one with a low cycle within the biennial characteristic of the coffee belt in Brazil”, he argues.

CIVIL YEAR
In the first quarter of 2022, exports reached 10.594 million bags, down 7.8% compared to the performance in the first three months of last year. The foreign exchange revenue in the interval totals US$ 2.424 billion, with a significant growth of 60.8% compared to the same previous interval, the highest value in the last five years.

“This reduction in the quarter is in line with the lower availability of Arabica, in the off-season of a low cycle, the growth in demand by industries for conilon, the logistics scenario, which remains complicated in relation to the availability of ships and high costs, and, moreover, recently, to the impacts of the conflict in Ukraine”, explains Rueda.

RUSSIA X UKRAINE
The continuation of the conflict in Ukraine is already having an impact on Brazilian coffee exports. In March, total shipments to Russia declined by 19%, for example. “Even though it is unimaginable to experience a war and all its tragic human factor in the 21st century, this scenario reflects the impossibility of sending containers and vessels to these destinations, with the stoppage of the work of maritime agencies in Russia and the collapse in Ukraine, in addition to the withdrawal of Russian financial institutions from the Swift financial system, which makes business with local partners difficult”, concludes the president of Cecafé.

MAIN DESTINATIONS
In the first quarter of this year, the United States remains the main importer of Brazilian coffee. The North Americans acquired 2.103 million bags, a volume 3.3% lower compared to the 2.176 million bags acquired in the same period in 2021. This volume represents 19.8% of total exports from Brazil so far.

Germany, representing 17.8%, imported 1.885 million bags (-8.7%) and occupied second place in the ranking. Then came Belgium, with the purchase of 1.119 million bags (+29.7%); Italy, with 910,727 bags (+0.9%); and Japan, with the acquisition of 481,498 bags (-22.4%).

With the extension of the war throughout the month of March, the impact on exports to Russia is noteworthy, which dropped from sixth to eighth place in the ranking of main importers in the first quarter. The Russians purchased 268,754 bags from January to the end of March, a volume that represents a drop of 19.3% compared to the same period in 2021.

TYPES OF COFFEE
Arabica coffee was the most exported between January and March 2022, with 9.254 million bags shipped abroad, which corresponds to 87.3% of the total. Soluble coffee had the equivalent of 970,352 bags shipped, accounting for 9.2% of the total. Then come the canéfora variety (robusta + conilon), with exports of 358,848 bags (3.4%), and the roasted and roasted and ground product, with 10,511 bags (0.1%).

DIFFERENTIATED COFFEE
Coffees with superior quality or some type of certificate of sustainable practices accounted for 15.2% of total Brazilian exports of the product in the first quarter of 2022, with the shipment of 1.611 million bags abroad. This volume represents a decline of 1.9% in comparison with the 1.643 million bags shipped by the country in the same period of the previous year.

The average price of this product was US$ 309.02 per bag, providing revenue of US$ 497.8 million in the three months, which corresponds to 20.5% of the obtained with total shipments. In the annual comparison, the value is 77.4% higher than that measured in the same previous interval.

In the ranking of the main destinations of differentiated coffees in the first quarter, the United States is at the top, with the acquisition of 413,198 bags, equivalent to 25.7% of the total of this type of product exported. Then come Germany, with 224,689 bags and a representation of 13.9%; Belgium, with 196,408 bags (12.2%); Italy, with 136,220 bags (8.5%); and Japan, with 77,366 bags (4.8%).

PORTS
The Santos (SP) maritime complex remains the main exporter of coffee in Brazil in 2022, with shipments of 8.829 million bags, which corresponds to 83.3% of the total. Closing the list of the first three are the ports of Rio de Janeiro, which accounted for 12.4% of shipments, sending 1.310 million bags in the first quarter, and Paranaguá (PR), with the shipment of 137,440 bags abroad (1 .3%).


ABOUT CECAFÉ
Founded in 1999, Cecafé actively represents and promotes the development of the coffee export sector at the national and international level. The entity supports the segment's operations through the exchange of data intelligence, strategic and legal actions, in addition to citizenship and socio-environmental responsibility projects. Currently, it has 120 members, including coffee exporters, producers, associations and cooperatives in Brazil, corresponding to 96% of the agents in this market in the country.