Coffee shipments fell 7.8% in March compared to the same period last year.

Brazilian coffee shipments totaled 3.040 million 60-kg bags in March, generating US$1.125 billion in foreign exchange revenue. Compared to the same month in 2025, there was a 7.8% decrease in volume and a 15.1% decrease in value. The data comes from the monthly statistical report of the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé). With this performance, exports of the product reached 29.093 million bags in the first nine months of the 2025/2026 crop year, an amount 21.2% lower than that recorded in the same period of the previous year. In terms of revenue, shipments yielded US$11.431 billion, registering a 2.9% increase compared to the period between July 2024 and March 2025. In the first quarter of this year, Brazilian coffee shipments totaled 8.465 million bags, implying a 21.2% decline compared to the 10.739 million recorded from January to the end of March last year. Foreign exchange revenue was US$3.371 billion, 13.6% less than the US$3.901 billion raised from coffee shipments in the first three months of 2025. According to the president of Cecafé, Márcio Ferreira, the negative performance reflects the off-season period for coffee farming in Brazil and the current financial situation of producers. “The new harvest will begin to arrive on the market in April for Robusta and Conilon coffees, and towards the end of May when the focus is on Arabica. Furthermore, coffee growers are well-capitalized and analyzing the best times to negotiate their remaining coffee, thus there is less product availability,” he explains. Additionally, he points out that the logistical scenario and global geopolitics have also impacted export performance. “The outdated infrastructure in the country's ports, whose advancement does not keep pace with the evolution of agribusiness, continues to interfere with export capacity, with hundreds of containers being held up in ports awaiting shipment and generating millions in losses for exporters,” he states. “Furthermore, negotiations with the US have been gradually resuming after the tariff increase, as uncertainties still prevail regarding US trade policy, as well as complications in the Strait of Hormuz due to conflicts in the Middle East, reducing business due to higher costs for importers, who face more expensive freight and extremely high maritime insurance costs, even when insurers offer the service,” adds Ferreira. MAIN DESTINATIONS Germany remains the largest importer of Brazilian coffee in the first quarter of 2026, acquiring 1.192 million bags. This volume implies a 15.63% decrease compared to the same period in 2025 and represents 14.1% of the country's total shipments in the interval. The US follows, with 936,617 bags acquired, representing a 48.3% decrease compared to the first quarter of 2025 and 11.1% of the total. Rounding out the top 5 are Italy, with 885,162 bags and a 10.2% increase; Belgium, with 527,456 bags and a 4.5% increase; and Japan, with 440,085 bags and a 35% decline. TYPES OF COFFEE Arabica coffee, with 6.712 million bags, remained the most exported by Brazil in the first quarter of 2026. This amount is equivalent to 79.3% of the total shipped, despite representing a 25.8% decrease compared to the first three months of last year. Following this, with the equivalent of 963,168 bags shipped abroad, is the soluble coffee segment, with a slight decrease of 1.5% compared to the first quarter of 2025. This type of product accounted for 11.4% of total exports in the current period. Canephora coffees (conilon + robusta), with 780,911 bags – an increase of 11% and 9.2% of the total –, and roasted and roasted and ground coffee, with 9,867 bags (-29.9% and 0.1% representation), complete the list. DIFFERENTIATED COFFEES Coffees with superior quality, certified for sustainable practices and/or specialty coffees accounted for 19.1% of total Brazilian exports from January to the end of March this year, with 1.618 million bags shipped abroad. This volume is 42.7% lower than that recorded in the same period of 2025. At an average price of US$451.56 per bag, the foreign exchange revenue from shipments of specialty coffees was US$730.751 million, which corresponded to 21.7% of the total obtained from all coffee shipments in the first quarter of this year. In the annual comparison, the value is 37.7% lower than that recorded in the first three months of 2025. Germany also led the ranking of the main destinations for specialty coffees, with the purchase of 226,716 bags, equivalent to 14% of the total of this type of product exported. Rounding out the top 5 are Italy, with 192,042 bags and a share of 11.9%; Belgium, with 177,593 bags (11%); and the USA, with 166,712 bags (10.3%). and the Netherlands, with 120,754 bags (7.5%). PORTS The Port of Santos was the main exporter of Brazilian coffee in the first quarter, with 6.409 million bags and representing 75.7% of the total. Following were the port complex of Rio de Janeiro, which accounted for 20.3% of shipments, sending 1.716 million bags abroad, and the Port of Paranaguá (PR), which exported 108,293 bags and had a representation of 1.3%. 

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.