Brazil to import robusta coffee from Việt Nam

Silvio Farnesi, Brazilan Ministry of Agriculture’s manager in charge of coffee, said the Brazilian government has approved import of robusta coffee for the first time in history, including from Việt Nam. - VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Silvio Farnesi, Brazilan Ministry of Agriculture’s manager in charge of coffee, said the Brazilian government has approved import of robusta coffee for the first time in history, including from Việt Nam.

This is to meet domestic demand for instant coffee production, he said.

The approval on February 15 resulted in imported robusta being subjected to a 2 per cent tariff. 

Brazil plans to import one million sacks of coffee, each equivalent to 60kg, by this May, with a maximum of 250,000 sacks per month. 

As the world’s top green coffee producer and instant coffee exporter, Brazil produced 49.6 million sacks of coffee, up 14.8 per cent annually. However, robusta, accounting for 17 per cent of the total production, was packed into 8.3 million sacks, down 25 per cent from 2015 and hitting a low record in the past 12 years. 

Arabica is mainly used for roasted and ground coffee production while robusta is used for instant coffee.