Introduction:The latest statistics from the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Association show that in November 2024, Brazil exported a total of 4.662 million bags of coffee (each bag weighing 60 kilograms), a year-on-year increase of 5.4%. Meanwhile, export revenue soared by 62.7% due to rising international prices. However, while setting a historic export record, issues such as port logistics bottlenecks and a nationwide strike by tax officials are posing significant risks to exports in the coming months.
Data recently released by the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Association (Cecafé) shows that in November 2024, the country exported a total of 4.662 million bags of coffee, equivalent to the standard shipping unit of 60 kilograms per bag, marking a growth of 5.4% compared to the 4.422 million bags exported in the same period last year. At the same time, driven by rising international coffee prices, export revenue for the month surged from $825 million last year to $1.343 billion, representing a year-on-year growth rate of 62.7%.
Looking back at the first five months of the 2024/25 season (from July to November), Brazil’s cumulative coffee exports reached 22.017 million bags, with total export value amounting to $5.955 billion, showing increases of 16.5% and 61.4%, respectively, compared to the same period in the previous season. Moreover, the total export volume for the first 11 months of 2024 has surpassed 46.399 million bags, not only up by 32.2% compared to the same period last year but also exceeding the all-time high of 44.707 million bags recorded for the entire year of 2020 by 3.78%.
The growth in export revenue is even more striking. Driven by rising international coffee prices, Brazil’s cumulative coffee export revenue for the first 11 months of this year has reached $11.302 billion, a staggering 56% increase over the same period last year and 22.3% higher than the historical peak of $9.244 billion set in 2022, highlighting Brazil’s pivotal role in the global coffee supply chain.
However, despite the strong export performance in November, both export volume and revenue declined compared to October. Experts point out that this is mainly due to a combination of factors including the rise in international coffee futures prices, market concerns over the US dollar trend and economic outlook, as well as uncertainties surrounding the next Brazilian harvest, leading many producers to delay sales and await future market developments.
In addition, logistics and transportation issues at Brazilian ports remain a major concern. Some exporters have indicated that while they have tried to reduce delays through methods such as bulk shipping, insufficient infrastructure has still resulted in additional costs exceeding millions of dollars, thereby increasing overall operational expenses.
More concerning is the fact that customs auditors from Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service (Receita Federal) launched an indefinite nationwide strike at the end of November to protest salary adjustments. As of now, the strike has continued for over a week with no signs of ending. According to the union Sindifisco Nacional, this round of strikes will persist until the government is willing to engage in reasonable salary negotiation talks.
The union further explained that although around 30% of employees are still on duty to ensure that customs clearance for items such as live animals, medicines, hazardous materials, and food is unaffected, the clearance process for most general goods, including coffee, has experienced varying degrees of delay and disruption.
Shipping agents, importers, and commodity traders have expressed widespread concern about this strike. They pointed out that it will directly lead to delays in customs clearance, interruptions in customs audits and on-site inspections, further increases in logistics costs, and even disruptions to overall transportation schedules—especially significantly impacting the operational efficiency of major export ports such as Santos.
The executive director of the São Paulo State Maritime Navigation Agencies Union (Sindamar) warned that this strike will have a negative impact on Brazil’s overall economy. Due to slower customs clearance, container terminals are experiencing cargo accumulation and an imbalance between supply and demand for containers, which could ultimately drag down the export performance of various Brazilian goods. If the situation persists, storage fees, container demurrage charges, and equipment maintenance expenses will all rise, not only reducing market competitiveness but also potentially passing these additional costs on to consumers.
It is worth noting that both Brazil and Vietnam, another major coffee-producing country, are currently facing extreme climate challenges such as drought, resulting in lower-than-expected coffee production and further affecting the global supply outlook for 2025. Under the dual pressures of tightening supply and climate instability, the futures prices of both Arabica and Robusta coffee have continued to climb recently. Amid the interplay of factors such as high prices, limited inventory, exchange rate fluctuations, and slowing exports, coffee prices are expected to remain at high levels in the short term.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
