Brazil set to triple Robusta exports by 2020

Brazil’s Robusta exports will top 5 million bags per year by 2020, according to a study by communications firm P&A for the Brazilian Coffee Growers Council (CNC). The report predicts that the Brazilian coffee business will experience two major shifts in coming years. Robusta growers will increasingly supply to foreign markets, shifting from a great reliance on the domestic Brazilian market. In turn, Arabica growers, who have traditionally focused on foreign export markets, will have to target the Brazilian market more intensely since the country may account for a significant share of the global growth in Arabica consumption. Other changes in coffee supply paradigms are likely to occur as emerging markets and producing countries champion consumption growth, and the additional Robusta demand is likely to outpace Arabica's by a ratio of 3 to 1.