Brazil Export Review

Article Summary:

• Brazil produces ~40% of global coffee supply; three main arabica regions are Minas Gerais, São Paulo, and Espírito Santo
• Arabica production down ~13% for 2025/26 due to heat, drought, and irregular rainfall; Robusta up 19% from favorable conditions in Bahia
• 2025/26 exports forecast at 40.75M 60kg bags (down ~2.4%); prices expected at record highs driven by reduced supply and new tariffs
• Further declines projected into 2026 due to pruning cycles, weather, and long-term climate pressures (water scarcity, thermal stress, pests)
• Processing evolved from early “Rio style” (phenolic reputation) to pulped naturals in the 1990s, improving quality and origin reputation
• Key cultivars include Bourbon, Mundo Novo, Catuai, Caturra, Yellow Bourbon, and newer rust-resistant varieties Obata and Icatu
• Large estate infrastructure supports on-site milling; main export ports are Santos, Vitória, and Rio
• Royal Coffee carries bulk and small-lot Brazil selections including Crown Jewel lots with full six-part analysis; arrivals through December 2026

Brazil Export Review: 

Agricultural infrastructure, land availability as well as government investment has made Brazil the top coffee producing country in the world year after year. The country produces a wide range of quality availability simply because of the quantity. It is known in the industry that it is easy to get ‘cheap’ Brazils as indeed this is true but it is also true that high quality coffee comes from this origin  and the land is widely diverse with microclimates conducive to a variety of terroirs. Three main growing regions are Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Espírito Santo, all located on the southern portion of the country.  

Brazil Export Stats:

A large amount of Brazilian coffee is consumed internally, as no green coffee can be imported into the country. Consumption is on the rise and is now comparable to that of the U.S. According to the USDA agricultural site, Brazil consumed roughly 3 billion lbs internally, and the U.S consumed 3.4 billion lbs in the 2024-2025 year.  

Production in Brazil is important to the overall industry as it makes up roughly 40% of the worlds production and impacts overall coffee availability. In the 2025/26 production there was a slight drop in Arabica production, roughly 13% compared to the year prior. Robusta production actually increased 19% due to weather conditions. Exports for the 2024/25 year hit 44/75 million 60kg bags. The 2025/26 year is expected to decrease about 2.4% and hit 40.75 million 60kg bags. Prices are expected to reach record high numbers and the overall decline in 2025 exports is due to reduced coffee crop availability and new tariffs.  

2026 production is expected to decline due to pruning rates, weather conditions and overall lower crop yields. Research suggests that the agricultural sector in Brazil will continue to face challenges in the upcoming decades due to water shortages and thermal stress. It has been also implied that the increase in temperatures will reduce the quality of microbiome cultures and increase the prevalence of pests, impacting not just Brazil but agricultural production worldwide. 

Production  

Coffees from Brazil were originally processed by drying cherries on patios in thick layers and then raked and covered with tarps, in some cases at the end of every day. Producers named this processing type ‘Rio’. This caused a reputation that coffees from the region were a bit leathery and unflavored. To this day cupper use ‘Rio’ interchangeably with the ‘phenol’ defect due to Brazil’s reputation of shipping phenolic coffees. Pulped naturals were introduced in the 1990s and helped improve the quality and reputation of Brazilian coffee.  

Growing Regions 

Bahia is one of the largest states in the country and is the northernmost coffee growing region. The state is known for its Robusta production and have steadily increased production in the southern region. Robusta harvest for 2025/26 has benefited from heavy rainfall and yields are expected to be higher than originally thought.  

Minas Gerais, while smaller in size than Bahia, is the largest coffee growing region in the country and produces 70% of the country’s arabica production. The region has experienced heat waves, droughts, and irregular rain patterns before the flowering stage which impacted the crop’s yield potential.   

Sao Paulo is another region in the eastern portion of the country that produces only Arabica coffee. Adverse weather conditions like rising temperatures have impacted Arabica production as it has a lower tolerance to heat. One recent example was the lack of rain during the 2025 harvest cycle, which  impacted the leaf development and the plant’s ability to fruit fully, reducing yields.   

Espírito Santo is the third largest producer of arabica coffee. Up to 95% of the production is grown without irrigation in the southern region. It is known for large amount Robusta production and has experienced no yield drops in the past couple of years due to its hearty nature. USDA estimates that 70% of robusta production is managed using irrigation. Most of the country does not use irrigation for coffee cultivation but has increased in prevalence due to unpredictable weather patterns.  

Cultivar 

Bourbon was first planted in Brazil around the 1860’s as a more productive alternative to Typica, helping the country along its meteoric rise to global coffee production leader. Brazil is known for many research stations developing cultivar types but there were spontaneous mutations as well, such as Caturra (dwarfism), Marigogipe (gigantism), and Yellow Bourbon (believed to be a hybrid of Bourbon and a yellow-fruit Typica called Amarelo do Botucatu). Researchers found them in the field and brought them back to labs to replicate and stabilize the plant.  

Catimors and Sarchimors were first planted in 1967 in Brazil after being developed in Portugal. During this period, plants were often bred to improve hardiness and high yields and increase cup quality. Other noteworthy Brazilian cultivar contributions include Mundo Novo (a Typica-Bourbon hybrid), Catuai (Caturra x Mundo Novo), Obata (a Sarchimor x Catuai), and Icatu (Bourbon x Mundo Novo). 

Obata and Icatu are both newer cultivars  (2010’s) but widely grown throughout the country. Both resistant varieties were bred for productivity and rust resistance primarily according to the Brazilian ministry of agriculture. Obata is a Sarchimor and Catuai hybrid, a shorter plant that is known for very high productivity. Icatu is a natural cross between Bourbon and Mundo Novo, also known for medium to high yields but is a taller plant that takes up larger space as it’s branches spread out wider. Three main Icatu cultivars in circulation in Brazil; 2944, 3282 and 4045.  

Logistics 

In general Brazil is viewed as a country that has logistics that is a little bit easier to handle from the import perspective than other countries. This is due to the large amount of infrastructure available in the country. Farms here are some of the biggest in the world and many are classified as estates, which implies they have a wet and dry mill on site. With such large estates, comes with more financial flexibility and you often see processing centralized on these farms. Wet mills and dry mills can both be available on a singular estate, this type of set up rarely happens in other countries.  

In general, purchases from Brazil happens at such a large scale that importers can have difficulty in consolidating with microlot, single-farmer lots. (I say in general because Royal has a particular perspective of buying smaller lots but also providing larger, bulk cheaper options to clients who need it, some focus on just one of these products). Overall the country makes 12.2 billion in exports with the top destination being to Germany ($153M) and the second Italy($125M) and then the U.S($96.8M).  

São Paulo, port of Santos, is in the Southern portion of the country and is one of the busiest ports for all shipments but especially coffee, sugar and soy shipments. In 2023 the port handled 29% of the country’s trade flow (165.8 billion). Vitoria is the northern part of the country also move a lot of coffee through this port but importers have to be purchasing from the northern regions for it to make logistical sense. Rio is another port that exports a lot of coffee and is in-between São Paulo and Vitoria.   

Royal Coffee Availability: 

Brazils are beginning to arrive and as of right now, will continue to arrive until December. Check out our full Brazil offering sheet including expected arrival dates here. For those that want to explore high-end lots from the country, check out our Crown Jewel line. Each lot comes in a 22lb box with a full six-part analysis – highly traceable and extremely delicious.