Rains spur Brazil's main coffee flowering, conditions look good - Reuters News
27-Sep-2022 23:23:02
By Roberto Samora

SAO PAULO, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Widespread rains in recent days over most of the main Brazilian coffee belt have led to intense flowering, possibly the main one for next year's season, and conditions appear good for crop development, experts said on Tuesday.

At a conference organized by Brazil co-op Cooxupe, the country's number 1 coffee exporter, coffee agronomists and weather forecasters said soil moisture levels have improved after rains arrived in September, creating conditions for a good flowering period.

"We've seen intense blooming in the last days, and it seems it is going to continue. It will probably be the main flowering period for the crop," said Éder Ribeiro dos Santos, Cooxupe's geoprocessing coordinator.

The flowering period that comes after the first spring rains in the Southern Hemisphere is key to defining the production potential for the following year. An ample blooming, combined with enough moisture, can lead to a good amount of fruit in trees.

This is the second flowering this year, but the first one was too early and came during drier conditions, and was seen by analysts and farmers as mostlyunsuccessful.

Claudio Pagotto, an agronomy professor at the Federal University of Viçosa in Minas Gerais, said the current outlook seems positive, but he added there is still a long way until next year and good production in 2023 will depend on weather conditions going forward.

Agriculture weather specialist Marco Antonio dos Santos said simulations indicate normal climate conditions in the near term.

A good coffee crop in Brazil, the world's largest producer and exporter, is seen as important to balance global supply after two years of below-average production in the country.