COVID-19 pandemic affecting business pretty badly - closing borders, ruining economies, etc. But, despite this, the Brazilian coffee business is showing pretty good results so far. In July, the beverage had its second-highest amount traded in the course of the month - three million bags which is about US$ 117.4 million in revenue.
"We show to our customers and business partners that all security protocols required to battle COVID-19 have been executed properly and on top of that coffee we produce remains a sustainable high-quality product," says Vanusia Nogueira, president of the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association. This association conducts "Brazil. The Coffee Nation" project in cooperation with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil). Their main goal is to share important and trustworthy information about Brazilian coffee with other countries.
Coffee producers in Brazil are constantly communicating with authorities from the Ministry of Agriculture to lower the risks of Coronavirus infection during coffee's production process. "Brazil is ready to keep its commitments to native consumption and exports because we as national coffee production must do our best to keep the livelihoods of local professionals", added Vanusia.
One of the founders of Brazil Specialty Coffee Association Marcelo Vieira reminds us that most of the specialty coffee farms in Brazil are family farmers and very interested in the proper protection of their workers. When you are working with family members, avoiding COVID-19 is your top priority.
The increased amount of export suggests that coffee consumption raised during quarantine. That's because a lot of people started working from home so they were willing to buy more coffee to drink during the day. According to Bloomberg’s data, coffee stocks during a pandemic decreased to a two-year low.
According to data provided by Field Agent Canada, the number of Canadians that consume coffee on the streets had fallen off significantly, from 91% to 46%. At the same time, the amount of coffee sold online went through the roof. That especially true for specialty coffee, as data by the National Coffee Data Trends suggests that in the USA about 60% of coffees consumed are specialty.
But specialty coffee sales still remain most negatively affected by the pandemic. That is because most of the specialty coffee is manufactured by dedicated small coffee shops and micro-roasters. Internet sales help a bit, but can't compensate for all the damage done to the industry. At the same time, many experts predict that, sooner or later, specialty coffee will also be purchased for home consumption, which would help the specialty coffee niche a lot.