Brazil, the world's coffee powerhouse, is facing a logistical nightmare. Port delays stranded almost 2,000 containers of coffee in March alone costing exporters approximately £1.3 million in lost revenue and extra fees.
The containers housed around 640,000 60kg bags of coffee according to Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council and have led to significant financial losses, including additional costs for storage, detentions, and other logistical hurdles.
Santos: The Choke Point
The Port of Santos, Brazil's primary coffee export hub, has been particularly problematic. It was responsible for 78.5% of Brazil's coffee exports last quarter and saw 63% of its vessels delayed, with some waiting up to 42 days. Rio de Janeiro's port wasn't far behind, with a 59% delay rate.
Troubles on top of troubles for Brazil
Brazil accounts for roughly 35% of the world’s coffee production and these delays are a worrying development, albeit not a surprising one, and are part of a much wider problem with Brazil’s coffee industry as a whole.
Thoughts from Us
From Ashlee our Head of Coffee: “In the past 12 months Brazil has experienced some extremely unpredictable weather, including drought and wild fires. This has caused a stress on the coffee plants, which is presumed to produce a small yield of coffee cherry for the 2025 harvest. As the largest coffee producer globally, what happens in Brazil massively dictates the market price of coffee. The harvest of Robusta has begun in some parts of the country, and the whole industry is waiting to see; a) what the quality coffee will be like and b) what this will do to global prices.
We are visiting Brazil during peak arabica harvest this year, and hope to gain more insight on the ground. We will be seeking out new producer relationships as we look to bring our customers exceptional coffees despite the challenges! Our travels will take us to lesser known coffee regions, award winning farms, and communities investing in regenerative agriculture.
For now our customers can enjoy our Brazilian coffee in our Single Estate Campestre No. 109, and our Italian Blend No.2 and look out for more exciting things to come.... !”
