• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • BLOG
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » In Brazil Heatwave, Coffee Is Burning on Trees

In Brazil Heatwave, Coffee Is Burning on Trees

February 1, 2019
Bloomberg

Farmers just can’t catch a break with the weather right now. While a cold snap threatens winter crops in the U.S., scorching temperatures are imperiling Brazil’s prospects of a record robusta-coffee harvest.

The normally sturdy robusta beans — used in instant coffee and espresso — are roasting even before being picked amid unrelenting heat in the states of Espirito Santo and Bahia. Maximum temperatures this month are as many as 8 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) above average in the main producing states, according to Somar Meteorologia.

“Beans are being burned amid scorching conditions and lack of rain,” Edimilson Calegari, general manager at Brazil’s top robusta cooperative Cooabriel, said by telephone from Sao Gabriel da Palha in northern Espirito Santo.

Under consecutive days of high temperatures, the side of the coffee cherry that is exposed to the sun dehydrates, preventing the bean inside from forming properly, Calegari said.

After abundant rain in the second half of last year that boosted optimism for the crop, robusta-coffee areas in Espirito Santo got only 5 millimeters (0.2 inch) in January, trailing the 150-millimeter average for the month, according to Somar.

The main issue, though, is the scorching heat, with temperatures reaching as high as 37 degrees Celsius. Plants full of forming cherries have been getting as many as nine hours a day of temperatures above 30 degrees, Celso Oliveira, a meteorologist at Somar in Sao Paulo, said by telephone.

Espirito Santo and Bahia account for more than 80 percent of Brazil’s robusta-coffee crop. Southern Bahia state has been hardest hit.

"In Bahia, crop conditions are terrible as they don’t have irrigation to ease plant stress," Cooabriel’s Calegari said.

Before the heatwave, the Brazilian robusta-coffee harvest was expected to reach records, rebounding from a severe drought in 2016. Crop agency Conab estimated the nation’s coffee crop at as much as 54.5 million bags, 16.3 million bags from robusta beans.

"Some farmers are forecasting losses of 10 to 15 percent,” Calegari said. “We will produce less, for sure, while we can’t estimate anything so far.”

Precipitation may return to Espirito Santo on Feb. 4, when heavy showers in the following seven days are expected to bring down temperatures, Somar’s Oliveira said. Before that, robusta crops will remain under stress, with temperatures forecast to top 35 degrees Celsius, he said. "In southern Bahia, the outlook is less optimistic as precipitation will return only after Feb. 8.”

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

  • Related Articles

    How California Can Help Save Brazil’s Burning Rainforests

    Brazil’s Neighbors Are Also Burning and Poisoning the Amazon

    As Coffee Gets Cheaper, Brazil Finds Ways to Grow More for Less

Bloomberg

Why a Cashmere Sweater Can Cost $2,000 — or $30

More from this author

Get regular updates!
Subscribe to our newsletter

Enjoy curated articles directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • 1115_chinarareearthminerals

    Podcast | Can China’s Monopoly on Rare Earth Minerals Be Broken?

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • 1111_makeorbreakblockchain

    The Element That Can Make or Break Blockchain for the Supply Chain

    Technology
  • 1125_themodernfactory

    The ‘Modern’ Factory Remains a Dream for Many Manufacturers

    Technology
  • 1118_howconsumerproductscompanies

    How Consumer-Products Companies Are Wasting Their Digital Spend

    Technology
  • 1122_forcedlaborinindia

    Podcast | This Campaign Is Out to Stop Forced Labor in India

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM

Digital Edition

55746

Subscribe today and receive the latest issue

Start Your Subscription

Case Studies

  • Manufacturer Slashes Shipping Costs With AI Packaging Solution

  • Apparel Retailer Saves $45 Million With Reverse Logistics Solution

  • QuestaWeb Configures Fragrance Company’s Complex Procedures Into Its Advanced FTZ Software

  • Business Turnaround: Integrated Business Planning as a Management Tool

  • How a 3PL Reduced Rejected Deliveries Using LoadProof

Visit Our Sponsors

  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • Webinars
  • The Magazine
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • Resources
    • Newsletters
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us

All content copyright © 2016 - 2018 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing