Coffee exports fall 1,6% in January 2025

According to the monthly statistical report from the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé), the country shipped a total of 3,977 million 60 kg bags of the product in January 2025, which implies a slight reduction of 1,6% compared to the 4,042 million bags recorded in the first month of last year. In revenue, however, there was an increase of 59,9% in the same comparative period, with the inflow of foreign currency jumping from US$ 823 million to the current US$ 1,316 billion.

"As we are in the off-season in Brazil and continue to face intense logistical bottlenecks, we can consider the performance of exports in January to be good when compared to the same period in 2024. The increase in foreign exchange revenue, around 60%, confirms the effect of the price increases that have been going on for a long time", analyzes the president of the entity, Márcio Ferreira.

Coffee types

In January, Arabica coffee, with the issuance of 3,278 million bags abroad, remained the most exported by Brazil. This volume is equivalent to 82,4% of the total shipped, even implying a slight drop of 0,3% compared to January 2024.

Next came the canephora coffees (conilon + robusta), despite a decline of 28,9 percentage points in the annual comparison. In the first month of this year, the country sent 328.074 bags of this species abroad, which generated a representation of 8,3% in total exports.

The soluble coffee segments, with 365.598 bags – an increase of 24,8% and 9,2% of the total –, and the roasted and roasted and ground product, with 4.968 bags (+156,6% and 0,1% of representation), completed the list.

"Processed coffees led the way in terms of good performance in January. However, we cannot fail to notice the reduction in the volume of canephoras, which was mainly driven by the fact that competing coffee from Vietnam, since the start of the harvest in November, has become much more competitive in terms of price. This trend should continue in the coming months, at least until the harvest of the national conilon and robusta crops in May", comments Ferreira.

He also analyzes the slight reduction in the volume of Arabica shipped abroad. "It is also possible to note that other origins are more competitive than Brazil, especially in relation to fine natural coffees and those with larger sieves in relation to our semi-washed or pulped cherry coffees. This trend, when we talk about volume, should continue, similar to what I predict for canephoras, until the arrival of the next Brazilian Arabica harvest", he adds.

main destinations

The United States was the main destination for Brazilian coffee last month, with the import of 713.348 bags, which is equivalent to 17,9% of the total and implies growth of 3,1% compared to January 2024.

Germany, with 11,5% of representation, acquired 457.569 bags (-35%) and occupied second place in the ranking. Next came Italy, with the import of 262.809 bags (+31,2%); Japan, with 247.840 bags (+15,5%); and Belgium, with 206.283 bags (-50,4%).

Even with Vietnamese and Indonesian coffees more competitive than national canephoras in January, Brazil still increased its shipments of green coffee to both Asian destinations, by 387,2% (51.963 bags) and 95,3% (37.562 bags), respectively.

"Exports to Vietnam and Indonesia are contracts signed in the middle of last year, when our conilon and robusta coffees were more competitive. These coffees, in fact, should have already left our country if it weren't for the logistical bottlenecks in Brazilian ports, which prevented the shipment of 1,8 million bags in 2024 due to constant ship delays and changes in port calls," explains Ferreira. "The trend is also for these destinations to reduce in the coming months," he concludes.

differentiated coffees

Coffees with superior quality or certified sustainable practices accounted for 25,4% of total Brazilian exports last month, with 1,012 million bags shipped abroad. This volume is 24,5% higher than that recorded in January 2024.

At an average price of US$ 388,35 per bag, foreign exchange revenue from shipments of differentiated coffees was US$ 393 million, which corresponded to 29,9% of that obtained from all coffee shipments in the first month of this year. In the annual comparison, the value was 113,1% higher than that recorded in January 2024.

In the ranking of the main destinations for premium coffees, the USA also came out on top, purchasing 206.657 bags, equivalent to 20,4% of the total of this type of product exported. Rounding out the top 5 were Belgium, with 135.216 bags and a representation of 13,4%; Germany, with 134.749 bags (13,3%); Japan, with 67.181 bags (6,6%); and the Netherlands, with 57.869 bags (5,7%).

Portos

The Port of Santos remained the main exporter of Brazilian coffee in January, with 2,996 million bags and a representation of 75,3% of the total. Next came the port complex of Rio de Janeiro, which accounted for 21% of shipments by sending 834.220 bags abroad, and the Port of Paranaguá (PR), which exported 35.995 bags and had a representation of 0,9%.

2024/25 Harvest

Brazilian coffee exports, from July 2024 to January 2025, totaled 30,147 million bags, generating an inflow of US$ 8,522 billion into the country. In comparison with the first seven months of the 2023/24 season, growth of 11,3% in volume and 60,3% in foreign exchange revenue were recorded.

The two performances are the highest in history for this seven-month period of a coffee harvest year in Brazil and were driven by the records achieved, in bags and dollars, with shipments of green and industrialized coffee, mainly the soluble product.