Brazil’s soluble coffee exports fall 4.7% with war in Ukraine, says association

Exports of soluble coffee from Brazil fell 4.7% in the first four months of 2022, to the equivalent of 1.22 million bags of 60 kg, with the impact of lower shipments to Russia and Ukraine due to the war, it said on Friday. on Friday (13) the association that represents the sector.

The negative performance is mainly due to the decline in purchases from Russia and Ukraine, whose imports of Brazilian soluble coffee, together, fell by 66,572 bags from January to the end of April, said the Brazilian Association of the Soluble Coffee Industry (Abics).

The situation could get worse, since Brazil did not register any exports in April to Russia, a country that last year was the second main destination for Brazilian soluble coffee, behind only the United States.

Abics estimates a drop of 500,000 equivalent bags in shipments this year, or about US$ 100 million less if the war continues.

“Considering that our total exports fell by 60,851 bags in the four-month period, this drop in performance so far is justified by the amount we have stopped exporting to these Eastern European nations since the beginning of the conflict,” said Aguinaldo, director of Institutional Relations at Abics. Lime, in note.

Brazil’s soluble coffee exports account for around 10% of the country’s total coffee shipments, which totaled more than 40 million bags in 2021, most of which are green beans.

The war has also impacted shipments of the in natura product from Brazil.

As the war rages on, Lima said, the impacts are likely to be significant, as Russia and Ukraine are traditionally big customers of Brazilian soluble coffee.

The two nations are responsible for practically 13% of the volume sent by Brazil abroad, having imported, last year, the equivalent of 534 thousand bags of soluble coffee, commented the executive.

Ukraine was the seventh destination for Brazilian exports last year.

Lima commented that the collapse in which Ukraine finds itself and the consequences of the restrictions and sanctions imposed on Russia have practically paralyzed imports from these countries, directly affecting the national product.

“The Russians did not purchase any soluble from Brazil in April this year and the Ukrainians only 519 bags. In the same month of 2021, for example, they had imported 30,759 bags and 7,667 bags, respectively,” he pointed out.

Faced with all the impacts and consequences of the war, the director of Abics reveals that the instant coffee sector in Brazil is “apprehensive and worried”, as logistical bottlenecks still continue, such as the shortage of containers and ships, and the high costs of raw material to export all over the world.

In the first quarter of 2022, Brazil exported its soluble coffees to 99 countries, with the United States being the main customer. The North Americans imported 234,717 bags until April, which represents 19.2% of the total. Russia, even with a decline of 29.5% in purchases, still remains in second place, acquiring 83,806 bags, or 6.9% overall.

In the domestic market, the consumption of soluble coffee in Brazil increased 1.2% from January to the end of April. Brazilians consumed the equivalent of 284,239 bags in the period.