(MENAFN- Brazil-Arab News Agency (ANBA)) Bruna Garcia Fonseca
São Paulo – The United Arab Emirates were one of the countries that saw the highest increases in purchases of coffee from Brazil in 2019, up 21.8% in volume from 2018, grossing 139,426 bags. The Arab countries as a bloc also saw an increase in imported volume, to 1,780,459 60-kg bags, up 4.9% from 2018.
In revenue, the Arab countries saw a downward change at 10.65%, to USD 205.4 million in 2019. The Arab countries accounted for 4.4% of the Brazilian coffee exports last year. The figures were presented this Wednesday (15) by the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council ( Cecafé ) in São Paulo.
Cecafé chairman Nelson Caravalhaes said that the Arab market is very important to Brazil. 'They are great partners. We can provide a high-quality coffee they greatly appreciate, so we see the Arab market as a very friendly partner to Brazil,' he told ANBA. The executive estimates that exports to Arabs will reach 2 million in 2020.
The institution's general director Marco Matos added that Cecafé will participate for the first time in Gulfood , the biggest food and beverage show in the Middle East to take place in Dubai, UAE from February 16-20.
'It's worthy pointing out that the [Agriculture] minister Tereza Cristina was in the UAE last year and scheduled another visit to the country later this year, and the number of new deals is quite impressive: alfalfa, beef and the coffee price. We see an upward trend due to this proximity not only to the UAE, but every Arab country visited,' Matos said. Cristina also visited Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait .
'It's also amazing the work that the ministry of Foreign Relations has done; this year and the next we're going to increasingly strengthen the partnership with these importing countries,' Carvalhaes added.
Nelson Carvalhaes (L) and Marcos Matos
Out of the Arab countries, the biggest purchaser is Lebanon, which bought 395,081 bags last year, up 24.46% year on year; the other top markets in the region posted growth. Syria comes next at 363,019 bags, up 18.8% year on year; Jordan comes third at 256,902 bags, up 15.75%; Tunisia is fourth, at 183,986 bags, up 7.09%; then comes Saudi Arabia, at 151,998 bags, up 13.25%. The UAE comes sixth.
Total
Overall, Brazil exported 40.6 million bags of coffee in 2019, breaking a record, according to Cecafé. Volume was up by 13.9% from 2018. But the revenue at USD 5.1 billion meant a 1.1% decline year on year. The average price of the bag was also down, by 13.2%, to USD 125.49.
The decline in revenues are due to the dollar hike, explained Carvalhaes. 'Our prices were lower until November. Sales for November and December were virtually closed, and this caused a lower revenue. We expect that this year will see an increase in both revenue and volume,' he said.
The country remains the world leader in coffee production and exports and sold to 128 countries in 2019. 'It's important to emphasize that the country is prepared to serve the growing global demand with a large growth potential for the next years; we now account for 40% of all coffee consumed around the world,' Carvalhaes said.
The top destinations in 2019 were the United States, Germany, Italy, Japan, Belgium, Turkey, Russia, Mexico, United Kingdom, and Canada. Mexico stood out for its 200.85% growth, to 951,042 bags.
Besides the UAE, the countries that stood out with a +20% growth include South Africa, Equator, Myanmar, Poland, Montenegro, Spain, and Ukraine.
The port of Santos remained the main crop flow gateway to other countries, at a share of 78%. It moved 31.7 million bags last year.
December
In the last month 2019, 2.99 millions bags of coffee were shipped for USD 384.2 million and an average price of USD 128.10.
As for the varieties, the highlight was robusta coffee, which exported twice more in December, up 102.6% from December 2018, up 304.731.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
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