According to the monthly statistical bulletin from the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé), the country shipped 4,329 million 60 kg bags of the product last November, showing a growth of 15,4% over the 3,750 million bags registered in the same month of 2022. Foreign exchange revenue, however, fell 10,2% in the same comparative interval, falling to US$810,4 million.
"In November, we continued to observe the significant performance of shipments of canephora coffees (robusta and conilon) abroad, which, with 856 thousand bags, rose 678% compared to the same period last year", comments Márcio Ferreira, president of the entity.
With last month's performance, Brazil's coffee exports, in the first five months of the 2023/24 harvest, total 18,774 million bags, generating an inflow of US$3,673 billion to the country. Compared to the figures recorded between July and November of the 2022/23 season, the performance implies an increase of 16,2% in volume, but a decline of 5,1% in revenue.
In the first 11 months of 2023, Brazil exported 35,004 million bags of coffee, a volume that is 3,2% below the 36,170 million bags recorded between January and the end of November last year. In foreign exchange revenue, the country has fallen 15,3% in the reference range, with inflows falling from US$ 8,527 billion to the current US$ 7,222 billion.
The president of Cecafé comments that the performance of shipments in the monthly, annual and harvest scenarios, although lower in some comparisons, is positive in the general context, highlighting the resilience of the sector. "Brazilian exporters have, over the last few years, been working hard to honor their commitments, rearranging their cash flows and the logistical bottlenecks that have persisted since before the pandemic, such as, more recently, delays in shipping the product", he says he.
In November, according to the Detention Zero Bulletin (DTZ), prepared by ElloX Digital in partnership with Cecafé, changes were recorded in 81% of ship calls at the Port of Santos (SP), reaching the highest rate of delays in 2023 surpassing the 76% recorded in October. The bulletin also points out that, last month, only 17% of boarding procedures took longer than four days for ships to open their gates. Another 52% had between three and four days and 30% had less than two days.
Regarding the growing demand for national canephora coffees, Ferreira explains that the significant increase is due to the continuous advance in the production of conilon and Robusta in Brazil, mainly the result of significant gains in productivity, new plantings and continuous improvement in quality.
“Remunerative prices in the domestic market and, more recently, also in the foreign market have made this effort on the part of producers viable and we can say that the entire chain is attentive to the increase in demand, whether due to climatic difficulties in other producing countries, such as Indonesia and Vietnam, or the increase in Robusta and Conilon in blends in the world consumption scenario”, he reveals.
In this sense, according to him, the effects of El Niño have impacted, in the last 45 days, the Robusta producing regions in Brazil, mainly in the north of Espírito Santo and south of Bahia. “This weekend, there was relief with the return of some rain, which we need to continue so that we can maintain, or even increase, these volumes. As the climate issue stabilizes, the prospects are positive, as Brazil remains competitive in relation to its main competitors”, he adds.
In the first 11 months of 2023, the United States remains the main destination for coffee from Brazil, despite the 25,7% drop compared to purchases made from January to November 2022. North Americans imported, until the month in the past, 5,471 million bags, an amount that represents 15,6% of total shipments.
Germany, with a representation of 12,6%, purchased 4,420 million bags (-30,3%) and occupied second place in the ranking. Next comes Italy, with the purchase of 2,827 million bags (-9,2%); Japan, with 2,072 million bags (+21,9%); and Belgium, with 1,956 million bags (-29,1%).
No longer surprising, China continues to have the best percentage growth among Brazil's 10 main coffee trading partners until November 2023. The Asian giant imported 1,152 million bags this year, increasing its imports by 221% compared to the same period. period of 2022, and jumped to eighth place in the ranking.
Increases in exports to the United Kingdom (71%), Turkey (36,2%) and the Netherlands (33,1%) were also recorded in this period, respectively the sixth, seventh and 10th main trading partners for Brazilian products to date.
When the analysis turns to imports of national coffees made by other coffee producing nations, substantial advances are observed in shipments made to Vietnam (+503,4%), the second largest producer in the world, behind Brazil; Mexico (+463%); and Indonesia (+135,6%). "In the cases of Vietnam and Indonesia, the justification is due to crop failures and the need for Brazilian conilon and Robusta to supply them. Mexico acquires our green coffees for industrial processing and consequent domestic consumption and re-export", concludes Ferreira .
From January to the end of November 2023, Arabica coffee remains the most exported by Brazil, with 27,508 million bags, which corresponds to 78,6% of the total. The canephora variety (conilon + robusta) had the corresponding 4,138 million bags shipped in the period, representing 11,8%, accompanied by the soluble segment, with 3,312 million bags (9,5%), and the roasted product and roasted and ground, with 45.987 bags (0,1%).
Coffees that have superior quality or certificates of sustainable practices account for 17,4% of total Brazilian exports of the product this year, with 6,075 million bags sent abroad. This volume represents a drop of 3,9% compared to that recorded between January and November 2022.
The average price of this product was US$229,18 per bag, generating foreign exchange revenue of US$1,392 billion in the first 11 months of 2023, which corresponds to 19,3% of that obtained from total coffee shipments. In the annual comparison, the value is 22,2% lower than that measured in the same interval last year.
In the ranking of the main destinations for differentiated coffees until November, the USA occupies first place, with the acquisition of 1,317 million bags, equivalent to 21,7% of the total of this type of product exported. Closing the top 5 are Germany, with 995.978 bags and a representation of 16,4%; Belgium, with 585.039 bags (9,6%); Netherlands (Netherlands), with 387.856 bags (6,4%); and the United Kingdom, with 286.614 bags (4,7%).
The Port of Santos (SP) remains the main exporter of coffee from Brazil in 2023, sending 25,120 million bags abroad, which represents 71,8% of the total. Next comes the Rio de Janeiro maritime complex, which accounts for 24,2% of shipments, having shipped 8,481 million bags, and the Port of Paranaguá (PR), with the export of 464.072 bags and representing 1,3 %.
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