Coffee Production at a New Record in Brazil
Brazil, the powerhouse of coffee production, is expected to harvest its largest off-year crop yet in the 2011-12 period, according to the country’s agriculture ministry, helping to allay concerns of an increasingly tight global market as a result of recent weather conditions.
In terms of 60kg bags, the Brazilian government agency, Conab, placed production at between 41.9 million and 44.7 million, giving the first official prediction for the output of the crop due to be harvested towards the end of April or into May. If realised, these figures would represent a considerable increase on the 2009-10 off-year collection of 39.5 million bags. The 2010-11 on-year production is said to have achieved 48.1 million bags.
Brazil’s coffee production has consistently risen and fallen in a biennial cycle and such fluctuations are now being helped by cultivation techniques and improved weather, according to the Conab crop report.
The current prediction for the upcoming 2011-12 off-year crop involved a potential 36.8 million bags of Arabica coffee, in addition to 11.3 million bags of the Robusta variety of coffee, the latter most often used to create instant coffee as well as the foamy head on espressos.
At a news conference to announce the estimate, Brazilian coffee production secretary, Manoel Bertone, said that growers’ improved incomes resulting from higher coffee prices, had allowed them to better maintain their trees – taking some out of production for pruning, in the hope that future crops will warrant the downtime.