GLOBAL – Brazil increases its world market share

MILAN – Brazilian coffee has increased its world market share to 32 per cent in 2009, reported the Council of Coffee Exporters or Cecafe on Monday.

The South American giant exported 30.3 million 60-kg bags of coffee last year, up 3 percent from 2008. But the annual turnover of US$4.27 billion was 10 percent less than the previous year.

In a statement, Cecafe director Guilherme Braga called last year’s performance positive and said the outlook for 2010 is “encouraging.”

Cecafe expects Brazil’s coffee exports to total around 30 million bags in 2010, resulting in revenues of between $4.6 billion and $4.8 billion.

The council said its optimism is based on figures showing that the recession has not significantly reduced coffee consumption in key markets such as the United States, Japan and Germany.