Brazil coffee exports to US fall in August but surge elsewhere: industry
Brazil is the world's largest producer and exporter of coffee, while the United States is the world's largest consumer
Brazilian coffee exports to the United States fell 46% in August while sales to Latin American neighbors surged, coffee exporters group Cecafe reported on Tuesday, even as industry leaders said re-exporting Brazilian beans via third countries was not an alternative for getting past US import tariffs.
Despite a drop in total exports to Germany, the European country took the top spot as the biggest importer of Brazilian coffee - accounting for 414,109 60-kilogram bags - in August, while to Mexico and Colombia rose by 90% and 578% respectively to 251,166 and 112,948 bags, Cecafe said.
Brazil is the world's largest producer and exporter of coffee, while the United States is the world's largest consumer. President Donald Trump's decision to impose a 50% levy since the start of August on most Brazilian goods, including coffee, has roiled international coffee markets.
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US imports of Brazilian coffee fell to 301,099 bags, Cecafe said, down from 562,723 in the same month last year.
"The tariffs disrupted the market and opened the door to speculative movements," Cecafe President Marcio Ferreira said in a statement.
Ferreira told journalists earlier on Tuesday that there was little possibility of re-exporting coffee beans to the United States via third countries.
Though some finished coffee products are exported from other countries to the United States, sending raw beans via third countries would be "very easy for the American government to spot," Ferreira said.
Tariffs imposed by the United States on Brazilian goods have hit the country's instant coffee industry hard, Aguinaldo Lima, executive director at ABICS, an organization representing Brazil's instant coffee producers, said during the press conference.
According to numbers from ABICS, Brazil's instant coffee exports to the United States in August fell 59.9% to 24,460 60-kilogram bags, versus the 65,914 bags exported in the same month last year.
"This is detrimental not only to our industries, but also to our trading partners in the United States," Lima said.
The US tariffs on Brazilian goods came into effect on Aug. 6. Since then, the International Coffee Organization and Brazil's national crop agency Conab have both warned that the tariffs could push prices higher.
With Brazil the world's second-largest coffee consumer, that could begin to impact inflation at home, Celirio Inacio, executive director at the Brazilian coffee industry association (ABIC) said.
"Coffee is becoming more expensive for consumers again, and this is causing complaints from consumers and will directly contribute to inflation here in Brazil," Inacio said.
