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Origin · Country profile

Brazil

The largest coffee producer, growing both arabica and conilon (robusta) on plateaus and hills from Paraná to Rondônia, harvested from April to September and shipped mainly through Santos.

Across the chain: History

Source-checkedby Coffearium verification pass· Last source-checked 2 Nov 2026· Prepared with AI assistance· 29 sources (27 tier A)· 3 contested· Updated 2 Nov 2026· Literature last searched 2 Nov 2026
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Contents
  • Brazil was the largest producer in 2025/26, with 63.0 of the world’s 178.8 million 60-kg bags, by the count of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).1
  • In the 2025 crop, arabica made up 63.3% and conilon (robusta) 36.7% of 56.5 million bags, by the count of the national supply company Conab (our calculation).5
  • Minas Gerais grew 45.6% of the 2025 crop and Espírito Santo 30.9%, most of it conilon (Conab; our calculation).5,6
  • In 2025/26, robusta picking began in April and arabica in May; USDA expected the harvest to end by September.4
  • The national industrial property institute (INPI) lists 9 coffee denominations of origin and at least 11 coffee indications of source (October 2026).10,11,12

Snapshot#

Brazil is the largest coffee producer. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) puts its 2025/26 crop at 63.0 million bags of 60 kg.1 That is 35.2% of the world total of 178.8 million bags (our calculation).1 USDA describes Brazil as nearly 40% of world production, with a strong influence on supplies and prices.1

For 2026/27, USDA forecasts a record 71.9 million bags.1 In the statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Brazil was also first in 2024, with 3,387,724 t of green coffee. That is 30.4% of the 78 countries’ total (our calculation).3

Brazil grows both main species. USDA counts 38.0 million bags of arabica (C. arabica) and 25.0 million of robusta (C. canephora) for 2025/26.1 The national supply company, Conab, reports robusta as conilon. It counted 63.3% arabica and 36.7% conilon in the 2025 crop (our calculation).5 Brazil grew 40.2% of the world’s arabica in 2025/26 (our calculation).1

Where coffee grows#

Coffee is grown in twenty Brazilian states, according to a 2025 USDA report.4 Minas Gerais leads, followed by Espírito Santo, São Paulo, Bahia and Rondônia.4 In the 2025 crop, Minas Gerais grew 45.6% of Brazil’s coffee and Espírito Santo 30.9% (Conab; our calculation).5

The two species grow in different places. Over 70% of the arabica is grown in Minas Gerais, and about 70% of the robusta in Espírito Santo, according to USDA.1 Conab’s 2025 figures agree: 70.4% and 68.2% (our calculation).5,6 São Paulo, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro and Goiás grow only arabica in Conab’s tables. Rondônia, Mato Grosso and Amazonas grow only conilon.5,6

Relief map of central and south-eastern Brazil with layers for coffee production by state, the geographical indications for coffee, export ports, research institutes and places in the history of coffeeCerrado MineiroMatas de RondôniaBOLIVIAPARAGUAYARGENTINAAtlantic OceanMGESSPBAROPRRJGOMTMSBrasíliaSão PauloRio de JaneiroBelo HorizonteCuritibaSalvadorPorto VelhoCuiabáGoiâniaCampo GrandeVitóriaEmbrapa CaféInstituto AgronômicoFundação ProcaféIncaper123456
darker = higher; contours every 250 m, bold every 500 mdashed: state bordersNo national coffee altitude band is sourced, so none is drawn.Relief: AWS Terrain Tiles; borders and towns: Natural Earth
Interactive relief map of central and south-eastern Brazil. Layers: production by state, arabica and conilon (Conab, 2025 crop); the geographical indications for coffee (INPI, drawn where INPI defines the area by coordinates or a state border); the two main export ports named by the exporters’ council (Cecafé); research institutes; and places in the history of coffee, with the 2021 frost. Relief from AWS Terrain Tiles; borders from Natural Earth.5,10,11,12,22,13,18
0 m500 m1,000 m1,500 mRegião do Cerrado Mineiro (INPI coordinate frame, IP) 11 Espírito Santo (conilon IP: the state) 11 GO / MSMGMGESTriângulo MineiroAlto ParanaíbaSão Francisco valleyEspinhaço rangeRio Doce valley52°W50°W48°W46°W44°W42°W40°WAlong 19°S, west to east; vertical scale about 300 times the horizontal. Terrain: AWS Terrain Tiles, 0.25° means; borders: Natural Earth.
Section along 19°S from the Paraná basin to the Atlantic, across the Triângulo Mineiro, Alto Paranaíba, the São Francisco valley, the Espinhaço range and the Rio Doce valley. Marked: the coordinate frame of the Região do Cerrado Mineiro indication of source (the DO list gives 48°48′ for the western limit; see Contested), and Espírito Santo, the area of the conilon indication of source. No source consulted gives a measured altitude band for Brazilian coffee. Terrain from AWS Terrain Tiles (0.25° means).11

Landscape and altitude. USDA describes Brazilian arabica on elevated plateaus and rolling hills, with fairly uniform weather.1 A 2015 modelling study notes that Brazil has no high elevations and grows much arabica at low elevations.8 It places climates now suitable for arabica at 400–1,500 m.8 No source consulted gives a measured national altitude band.

Local figures exist. The Oeste da Bahia indication of source covers land from 700 m upwards.11 In the Região de Pinhal, São Paulo, altitudes reach 1,200 m.11 The experimental farm of Fundação Procafé at Varginha, in southern Minas Gerais, lies at 950 m.29

Main regions. Conab divides Minas Gerais into four coffee regions.5 The Sul e Centro-Oeste region grew 12.1 million bags in 2025. The Zona da Mata, Rio Doce and Central region grew 8.0 million, and the Triângulo, Alto Paranaíba and Noroeste 4.8 million.5 In Bahia, the Atlântico region grows conilon; the Planalto and the Cerrado of the west grow arabica.5 Names such as Cerrado Mineiro, Matas de Minas and Alta Mogiana are protected as geographical indications (see below).10,11

Climate and harvest#

In 2025/26, robusta picking began in April and arabica in May; USDA expected it to end by September.4 In Sul de Minas, the 2026 harvest began in May and peaked in July and August, according to Conab.5 In Espírito Santo, conilon picking intensified from May and June and was to end in August or September.5 USDA’s marketing year for Brazil runs from July to June.1 Harvest calendars compares Brazil with other origins.

Frost and drought. Frost easily damages coffee trees and can kill them. A 2006 review notes that this happens from time to time in southern Brazil.9 In 2021/22, drought and high temperatures cut the off-year arabica crop by 13.3 million bags, according to USDA.1 In the next on-year, severe frost, heat and low rainfall limited the rebound to 3.4 million bags.1 In 2024, parts of Minas Gerais went nearly 200 days without rain.4

On-years and off-years. Arabica in Brazil alternates between high-yielding and lower-yielding years. USDA links the strong swing to the uniform landscape and to weather that synchronises yields across large areas.1 Coffee yields explains the cycle.

Irrigation. In Espírito Santo, around 70% of the robusta crops are irrigated, according to data of the state research institute Incaper reported by USDA.4 The national irrigated area is given in Irrigation.

Farms and people#

The 2017 agricultural census of the national statistics office (IBGE) counted about 264,000 establishments that produced coffee.7 It recorded 1.9 million t of arabica and 476,000 t of canephora; the census page does not state whether this is green coffee.7 The census page consulted gives no farm sizes for coffee.

In Conab’s count, 1,858,693.5 ha of coffee were in production in 2025.5 That gives about 30.4 bags per hectare (our calculation).5 Conab expects 34.6 bags per hectare in 2026.5 Yields differ widely by state and species (see Coffee by state).

Mechanisation. USDA writes that Brazil’s geography allows mechanised pruning and harvesting.1 A 2004 World Bank study names mechanised irrigation and harvesting as ways Brazil cut its production costs.17 No source consulted gives the share of the crop picked by machine.

Varieties#

Brazilian arabica rests on a narrow genetic base. A 2013 study found that seven ancestors make up 97.55% of the genetic base of Brazilian arabica cultivars.14 Bourbon Vermelho arrived from Réunion in 1852, according to that study.14 The Agronomic Institute (IAC) in Campinas, São Paulo, bred Catuaí by crossing Mundo Novo with Caturra.27 The main Brazilian cultivars and their history are in Arabica varieties.

Conilon. Brazil began to grow C. canephora on a large scale in the 1960s, especially in Espírito Santo.26 A 2020 paper describes ten new clones for Rondônia and the western Amazon, named Amazonian Robustas. They combine traits of the conilon and robusta botanical varieties.28 The Matas de Rondônia denomination of origin protects “robustas amazônicos”.10 The species is described in Coffea canephora.

Processing#

In the ICO glossary as reproduced by FAO (undated), the International Coffee Organization (ICO) places Brazil in its group of Brazilian Natural Arabicas, with Ethiopia and Paraguay.23 In the ICO glossary, unwashed (natural) coffee is green coffee prepared by dry processing of the fruit.23 No source consulted gives the national shares of natural, pulped natural and washed coffee.

In the pulped natural, or cereja descascado, the skin is removed and the seed is dried with its mucilage. Pulped natural describes the method and its Brazilian history; Natural process describes drying in the whole fruit.

History#

Legend and evidence. Coffee reached Brazil in 1727, in the north.14 A 1967 study of the slave-run coffee estate tells how Francisco de Melo Palheta brought it from Cayenne to Belém, in Pará.13 A legend says the French governor’s wife slipped coffee seeds into his pocket.13 The study calls this story pure fantasy.13 Palheta brought “cinco mudas e mil e tantas sementes” (five seedlings and over a thousand seeds).13 His written instructions told him to hide coffee seeds discreetly.13

From Pará to the south-east. Pará shipped its first coffee to Lisbon in 1732.13 From Pará, coffee went to Amazonas and Maranhão.13 Later it spread around Rio de Janeiro and through the Paraíba valley towards São Paulo and the Zona da Mata of Minas Gerais.13

Slavery and immigrant labour. The coffee economy of the 19th century was built on the labour of enslaved people. The 1967 study states that its growth was possible only through slave labour.13 Production rose fast from the 1870s.15 Slavery was abolished in 1888.15 From the mid-1880s, government subsidies paid for the passage of immigrants to São Paulo. By the end of 1895, the planters’ Sociedade Promotora de Imigração had brought more than 220,000 immigrants to São Paulo.15

Pests, diseases and conilon. The coffee berry borer reached Brazil in 1913, at Campinas.25 Coffee leaf rust was first found in January 1970, in southern Bahia.24 Conilon spread from the 1960s, above all in Espírito Santo.26

The 1975 frost. In 1975 a severe frost damaged the Brazilian crop.16 In FAO statistics, production fell from 1,272,298 t in 1975 to 375,985 t in 1976 (−70%; our calculation).2 The effect on world prices is told in Coffee price history.

The coffee institute. The Brazilian Coffee Institute (IBC) was created by law on 22 December 1952.19 It carried out national coffee policy and gave technical and economic help to producers.19 It was abolished by a provisional measure of 15 March 1990; the national archive also cites a law of 12 April 1990.19 Brazil’s earlier price support and the export quotas are covered in The international coffee agreements.

Trade and institutions#

Exports. USDA counts 37.9 million bags of exports in 2025/26, of which 34.0 million green coffee.1 The agriculture ministry (MAPA) reports 37.8 million bags of green coffee exported in calendar year 2025.6 How Brazilian coffee is priced on the New York futures market is covered in Differentials.

Ports. Santos, in São Paulo state, is the main port for Brazil’s coffee exports, according to the exporters’ council Cecafé.22

Coffee at home. Brazilians drank 22.3 million bags in 2025/26, by USDA’s estimate: 35.4% of the crop (our calculation).1 Among single countries, only the United States drinks more in USDA’s table.1 Coffee consumption by country compares consumers.

Institutions. Conab, the national supply company, publishes the official crop surveys.5 The Coffee Economy Defence Fund (Funcafé), created on 25 November 1986, finances the government’s coffee programme.20 Since 1997, a research consortium coordinated by the agricultural research corporation Embrapa has joined the coffee research institutes.20 Brazil’s official classification of green coffee is described in Green coffee grading.

Geographical indications. The INPI registers indications of source (indicação de procedência, IP) and denominations of origin (denominação de origem, DO). Its October 2026 lists include 9 coffee DOs and at least 11 coffee IPs.10,11,12 The first coffee IP was Região do Cerrado Mineiro, registered on 14 April 2005.11 The full list is under Geographical indications.

Deforestation rules. How Brazilian coffee meets the EU deforestation regulation is covered in EUDR.

Production over time#

The FAO series runs from 1961. Production stood at 2,228,704 t in 1961 and fell to 754,800 t in 1970.2 After the 1975 frost it dropped to 375,985 t in 1976, the lowest value in the series.2,16 The 2020 value, 3,705,719 t, is the highest.2 From 2008 onwards, every year exceeded 2.4 million t.2

1960196519701975198019851990199520002005201020152020202501000200030004000Yearthousand t green coffeeBrazil2
Data table
SeriesYearthousand t green coffeeSource
Brazil19612228.72
Brazil19622190.32
Brazil19631650.532
Brazil19641042.012
Brazil19652294.052
Brazil19661202.872
Brazil19671507.52
Brazil19681057.72
Brazil19691283.52
Brazil1970754.82
Brazil19711551.462
Brazil19721495.72
Brazil1973872.8972
Brazil19741615.312
Brazil19751272.32
Brazil1976375.9852
Brazil1977975.3852
Brazil19781267.662
Brazil19791332.772
Brazil19801061.192
Brazil19812032.212
Brazil1982957.9312
Brazil19831671.592
Brazil19841420.282
Brazil19851910.652
Brazil19861041.412
Brazil19872202.712
Brazil19881348.012
Brazil19891532.342
Brazil19901464.862
Brazil19911520.382
Brazil19921294.372
Brazil19931278.762
Brazil19941307.292
Brazil1995930.1352
Brazil19961369.22
Brazil19971228.512
Brazil19981689.372
Brazil19991631.852
Brazil20001903.562
Brazil20011819.572
Brazil20022610.522
Brazil20031987.072
Brazil20042465.712
Brazil20052140.172
Brazil20062573.372
Brazil20072249.012
Brazil20082796.932
Brazil20092440.062
Brazil20102907.262
Brazil20112700.542
Brazil20123037.532
Brazil20132964.542
Brazil20142804.072
Brazil20152647.52
Brazil20163024.472
Brazil20172684.512
Brazil20183552.732
Brazil20193011.742
Brazil20203705.722
Brazil20212985.582
Brazil20223179.342
Brazil20233348.512
Brazil20243387.722
Green coffee production of Brazil, 1961–2024, in thousand tonnes, from FAO statistics by calendar year. The 1976 low follows the 1975 frost; the alternation of high and low years after 2000 reflects the biennial cycle of arabica.2,16,1
Year t Year t Year t Year t
1961 2,228,7042 1977 975,3852 1993 1,278,7592 2009 2,440,0562
1962 2,190,3032 1978 1,267,6612 1994 1,307,2892 2010 2,907,2652
1963 1,650,5272 1979 1,332,7722 1995 930,1352 2011 2,700,5402
1964 1,042,0132 1980 1,061,1952 1996 1,369,1962 2012 3,037,5342
1965 2,294,0472 1981 2,032,2102 1997 1,228,5132 2013 2,964,5382
1966 1,202,8682 1982 957,9312 1998 1,689,3662 2014 2,804,0702
1967 1,507,5002 1983 1,671,5882 1999 1,631,8522 2015 2,647,5042
1968 1,057,7002 1984 1,420,2812 2000 1,903,5622 2016 3,024,4662
1969 1,283,5002 1985 1,910,6462 2001 1,819,5692 2017 2,684,5082
1970 754,8002 1986 1,041,4062 2002 2,610,5242 2018 3,552,7292
1971 1,551,4622 1987 2,202,7082 2003 1,987,0742 2019 3,011,7452
1972 1,495,7052 1988 1,348,0142 2004 2,465,7102 2020 3,705,7192
1973 872,8972 1989 1,532,3352 2005 2,140,1692 2021 2,985,5812
1974 1,615,3092 1990 1,464,8562 2006 2,573,3682 2022 3,179,3412
1975 1,272,2982 1991 1,520,3822 2007 2,249,0112 2023 3,348,5102
1976 375,9852 1992 1,294,3732 2008 2,796,9272 2024 3,387,7242

National and international bodies count the crop differently. USDA uses a marketing year from July to June.1 Conab reports each calendar crop, and FAO uses calendar years.5,3 USDA’s post in Brazil notes that Conab and IBGE use their own methods and have historically given lower figures than the post (see Contested).4

Coffee by state#

The table gives Conab’s values for the completed 2025 crop, as printed in its survey of September 2026.5 The agriculture ministry’s summary of May 2026 gives the 2025 crop by state for arabica and conilon.6 Conilon by state is total minus arabica (our calculation), and matches that summary.5,6

050001000015000200002500030000thousand 60-kg bagsArabicaConilon (robusta)Minas Gerais25,755.15 Espírito Santo17,448.05 São Paulo4,739.95 Bahia4,434.55 Rondônia2,320.25 Paraná748.65 Rio de Janeiro422.35 Mato Grosso278.75 Goiás215.55 Amazonas35.25 Others (Conab)137.35
Data table
Arabica (thousand 60-kg bags)Conilon (thousand 60-kg bags)Total (thousand 60-kg bags)Source
Minas Gerais25170.9584.225,755.15
Espírito Santo32891415917,448.05
São Paulo4739.904,739.95
Bahia1144.532904,434.55
Rondônia02320.22,320.25
Paraná748.60748.65
Rio de Janeiro422.30422.35
Mato Grosso0278.7278.75
Goiás215.50215.55
Amazonas035.235.25
Others (Conab)32.4104.9137.35
Coffee production by state in the 2025 crop, in thousand 60-kg bags: arabica (filled) and conilon (outlined). Data: Conab, survey of September 2026, column ‘Safra 2025’; conilon is our calculation.5,6
State Arabica, 2025 (thousand bags) Conilon, 2025 (thousand bags) Total, 2025 (thousand bags) Area in production, 2025 (ha) Share of production (our calculation)
Minas Gerais 25,170.95 584.26 25,755.15 1,077,8045 45.6%
Espírito Santo 3,289.05 14,159.06 17,448.05 379,8225 30.9%
São Paulo 4,739.95 – 4,739.95 196,0255 8.4%
Bahia 1,144.55 3,290.06 4,434.55 103,2455 7.8%
Rondônia – 2,320.26 2,320.25 40,7625 4.1%
Paraná 748.65 – 748.65 25,4045 1.3%
Rio de Janeiro 422.35 – 422.35 12,3795 0.7%
Mato Grosso – 278.76 278.75 11,8255 0.5%
Goiás 215.55 – 215.55 5,5795 0.4%
Amazonas – 35.26 35.25 985.55 0.1%
Others (Conab) 32.45 104.96 137.35 4,8635 0.2%
Brazil 35,763.15 20,772.26 56,535.35 1,858,693.55 100%

In the agriculture ministry’s summary, “Others” covers Ceará, Pernambuco, Mato Grosso do Sul and the Federal District for arabica, and Acre, Pará and Ceará for conilon.6 Production per hectare in production ranged from 23.9 bags in Minas Gerais to 56.9 bags in Rondônia (our calculation).5

Regions within states. Conab breaks down Minas Gerais and Bahia.5

Region (Conab) Arabica, 2025 (thousand bags) Conilon, 2025 (thousand bags; our calculation) Total, 2025 (thousand bags) Area in production, 2025 (ha)
Minas Gerais: Sul e Centro-Oeste 12,061.35 – 12,061.35 521,8155
Minas Gerais: Zona da Mata, Rio Doce e Central 7,468.35 571.7 8,040.05 330,4505
Minas Gerais: Triângulo, Alto Paranaíba e Noroeste 4,771.65 – 4,771.65 195,9415
Minas Gerais: Norte, Jequitinhonha e Mucuri 869.75 12.5 882.25 29,5985
Bahia: Atlântico – 3,290.0 3,290.05 47,0005
Bahia: Planalto 879.55 – 879.55 50,2455
Bahia: Cerrado 265.05 – 265.05 6,0005

The 2026 crop. Conab’s September 2026 survey estimates 67.6 million bags for 2026: 48.2 million arabica and 19.4 million conilon (our calculation for conilon).5 Minas Gerais rises to 35.6 million bags and Espírito Santo falls to 16.5 million.5 The 2026 values are estimates until Conab’s final survey.

Geographical indications#

The INPI lists of October 2026 contain nine denominations of origin and, in the part of the indication-of-source list that could be read, ten indications of source for coffee.10,11 A further IP, Chapada de Minas, was granted on 24 February 2026.12 Two regions began as IPs and later became DOs or added one: Mantiqueira de Minas and Região do Cerrado Mineiro.10,11 INPI names no seat or centre for any of them.

Name Type INPI number Registered State Area as INPI describes it
Região do Cerrado Mineiro IP IG990001 14 Apr 200511 MG Parallels 16°37′ to 20°13′ and 45°20′ to 49°48′11
Mantiqueira de Minas IP 2011, DO from 2020 IG200704 31 May 2011; changed to DO 9 Jun 202010 MG 25 municipalities of the Mantiqueira, Minas Gerais side10
Norte Pioneiro do Paraná IP IG200903 25 Sep 201211 PR 45 municipalities11
Alta Mogiana IP IG200703 17 Sep 2013, amended 23 May 202311 SP, MG Listed municipalities of both states11
Região do Cerrado Mineiro DO IG201011 31 Dec 2013, amended 15 Mar 202210 MG Area of state portaria 165/95; 16°37′ to 20°13′ and 45°20′ to 48°48′10
Região de Pinhal IP BR402014000001-8 19 Jul 201611 SP Listed municipalities from Espírito Santo do Pinhal; seat at 870 m; 800–900 m, 900–1,100 m on the Minas Gerais border, up to 1,200 m11
Oeste da Bahia IP BR402014000005-0 14 May 201911 BA Land from 700 m in listed municipalities; arabica green coffee11
Campo das Vertentes IP BR402019000013-5 24 Nov 2020, amended 5 May 202611 MG 17 municipalities11
Matas de Minas IP BR402018000002-7 15 Dec 2020, amended 7 Apr 202611 MG Listed municipalities from Abre Campo11
Caparaó DO BR412019000005-0 2 Feb 202110 ES, MG 16 municipalities, 10 in Espírito Santo and 6 in Minas Gerais; arabica10
Montanhas do Espírito Santo DO BR412019000017-4 4 May 202110 ES Listed municipalities from Afonso Claudio10
Espírito Santo IP BR402020000002-7 11 May 202111 ES The whole state; conilon coffee11
Matas de Rondônia DO BR412020000004-0 1 Jun 202110 RO 10–14°S, 60–64°W; “robustas amazônicos”10
Região de Garça IP BR402020000017-5 22 Nov 202211 SP 15 municipalities in the centre-west of the state; arabica11
Sudoeste de Minas IP BR402022000007-3 25 Jul 202311 MG Continuous area of listed municipalities11
Canastra DO BR412022000012-6 19 Sep 202310 MG Listed municipalities from Medeiros and Bambuí10
Chapada Diamantina DO BR412022000019-3 15 Oct 202410 BA 24 municipalities of the Centro Sul Baiano mesoregion10
Mandaguari DO BR412023000020-0 1 Jul 202510 PR Apucarana, Arapongas, Cambira, Jandaia do Sul, Mandaguari, Marialva10
Serra de Apucarana DO BR412025000003-5 27 Jan 202610 PR Apucarana, Arapongas and Cambira10
Chapada de Minas IP BR402025000013-6 24 Feb 202612 MG 22 municipalities12

These are Brazilian registrations. No source consulted for this entry records protection of a Brazilian coffee name in the European Union or Switzerland.

Export ports#

The exporters’ council Cecafé names Santos as the main port for Brazilian coffee, followed by the port complex of Rio de Janeiro.22 Its statistics count exports both by the customs unit that clears them and by the port that ships them.22 Shares by port are not given here: they rest on this trade body alone, and no official port series was consulted.

Frost and climate risk#

A 2006 review places the southern limit of coffee at 24°S in Brazil. Frost there can damage and kill trees.9 The 2006 review cites the use of shade in Paraná, southern Brazil, to reduce chilling and frost damage.9 The coffee belt gives the latitude limits.

Event What the sources record Source
1975 frost Severe frost damaged the Brazilian crop; FAO production 1,272,298 t (1975) and 375,985 t (1976) World Bank 198516, FAO2
1994 frosts Two frosts and a following drought; about 13 million bags of production lost World Bank 200417
2021/22 drought and heat Off-year arabica crop 13.3 million bags lower USDA1
2021 frost 20 July 2021; −1.7 °C at a study farm at Santo Antônio do Amparo, Minas Gerais; next on-year rebound only 3.4 million bags Valente et al. 202418, USDA1
2024 drought Nearly 200 days without rain in parts of Minas Gerais USDA4

Moving away from frost. In the second half of the 1990s, Brazilian replanting expanded into low frost-risk areas, according to a 2004 World Bank study.17 The study links this to the end of credit limits set by the former coffee institute.17

Frost on the farm. A 2024 drone study measured damage three days after the frost of 20 July 2021 on two young plantations. Damage depended on plant age and position on the slope: 50% and 12% in high- and low-risk zones for two-year-old plants, 88% and 6% for one-year-old plants.18

Projections. A 2015 modelling study projects that Brazil loses 25% of the area now suitable where arabica grows by the 2050s.8 Suitable climates shift from 400–1,500 m to 800–1,600 m, and dry-season rain falls by 50 mm.8 These are model projections, not forecasts by Coffearium.

Research institutes#

Brazil’s coffee research is shared between federal and state institutes. Embrapa coordinates the coffee research consortium, created in 1997.20 Its founding members include the state research companies EPAMIG (Minas Gerais), Incaper (Espírito Santo) and IAPAR (Paraná), the IAC and two federal universities, according to Embrapa Café.21

Institute Location Example of work Source
Embrapa Café Brasília, Federal District Coordinates the Consórcio Pesquisa Café Embrapa Café21, MAPA20
Instituto Agronômico (IAC) Campinas, São Paulo Bred Catuaí WCR27
Fundação Procafé Varginha, Minas Gerais; MAPA/Procafé experimental farm at 21°34′S, 45°24′22″ (west not printed), 950 m Field trials of arabica progenies Paiva et al. 200929
Incaper Research centre at Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Espírito Santo Conilon research Colodetti et al. 202526
EPAMIG Minas Gerais (town not given in the sources consulted) Founding member of the consortium Embrapa Café21
Embrapa Rondônia Rondônia Amazonian Robustas, ten clones (2020) CBAB 202028

Reference values#

Parameter Value Source
Production, USDA 63.0 million 60-kg bags (2025/26); 71.9 million forecast (2026/27) USDA1
Arabica / robusta, USDA 38.0 / 25.0 million bags (2025/26) USDA1
Production, Conab 56,535.3 thousand bags (2025 crop); 67.6 million estimated (2026) Conab5
Arabica / conilon, Conab 35,763.1 / 20,772.2 thousand bags (2025); 63.3% / 36.7% (our calculation) Conab5,6
Production, FAO 3,387,724 t (2024; ≈56.5 million bags, our calculation) FAO3
Share of world output 35.2% (2025/26, USDA); 30.4% (2024, FAO); our calculation USDA1, FAO3
Share of world arabica 40.2% (2025/26, our calculation) USDA1
Area in production 1,858,693.5 ha (2025); 1,952,617.5 ha (2026 estimate) Conab5
Yield ≈30.4 bags/ha (2025, our calculation); 34.6 bags/ha (2026 estimate) Conab5
Establishments producing coffee ≈264,000 (2017 census) IBGE7
States growing coffee Twenty (USDA, 2025) USDA4
Largest states (2025) Minas Gerais 25,755.1; Espírito Santo 17,448.0; São Paulo 4,739.9 thousand bags Conab5
Harvest Robusta from April, arabica from May, expected to end by September (2025/26) USDA4
Harvest, Sul de Minas (2026) Start May, peak July–August Conab5
Marketing year (USDA) July–June USDA1
Irrigated robusta, Espírito Santo ≈70% of crops (Incaper data via USDA, 2025) USDA4
Exports 37.9 million bags, of which 34.0 million green (USDA, 2025/26); 37.8 million bags green coffee (MAPA, calendar 2025) USDA1, MAPA6
Main export port Santos, then the Rio de Janeiro port complex Cecafé22
Domestic consumption 22.3 million bags (2025/26) USDA1
Geographical indications 9 DOs; at least 11 IPs (October 2026) INPI10,11,12
Modelled suitable altitude, arabica 400–1,500 m now; 800–1,600 m by the 2050s Ovalle-Rivera et al. 20158
First coffee in Brazil 1727, Pará Setotaw et al. 201314, Valverde 196713
Brazilian Coffee Institute (IBC) 22 Dec 1952–15 Mar 1990 (law of 12 Apr 1990) Arquivo Nacional19

Open questions#

  • Farm structure. The census page consulted gives one count of about 264,000 establishments and no farm sizes or family-farm shares for coffee.7 No source consulted gives the number of producers by state or species.
  • Processing shares. No source consulted gives the shares of natural, pulped natural and washed coffee in the Brazilian crop.
  • Altitude. No Tier A source consulted gives a measured altitude band for Brazilian coffee; the only national range is a modelled one.8
  • Mechanisation. USDA and the World Bank describe mechanised harvesting, but no source consulted gives its share.1,17
  • Where the 1975 frost struck. The sources consulted record the damage nationally, not by region.16,2
  • Port statistics. Shares by port would need an official series (for example Comexstat, by port of shipment); the exporters’ council’s figures were not used.22
  • Indications of source. The INPI list could not be read to its end, so coffee IPs registered recently may be missing.11

Key studies#

Valverde, 1967 – The slave-run coffee estate in Brazil. A historical geography of the coffee plantation, from Palheta’s journey to Cayenne to the Paraíba valley. It quotes the written instructions to bring seeds back secretly and rejects the story of the governor’s wife as fantasy. It concludes that the coffee boom rested on slave labour.

Revista Brasileira de Geografia 29(1), 37ff. · rbg.ibge.gov.br

Gonçalves, 2014 – Immigrants and migrants in the São Paulo coffee economy. Follows how São Paulo planters looked for workers as coffee spread in the late 19th century. Subsidised immigration supplied the labour; one planters’ society alone brought more than 220,000 immigrants by the end of 1895.

Revista Brasileira de História 34(67), 283–308 · doi:10.1590/S0102-01882014000100013

Setotaw et al., 2013 – Brazil’s narrow arabica base. Traced the pedigrees of 121 arabica cultivars released in Brazil from 1939 to 2009. Seven ancestors make up almost the whole genetic base, led by Bourbon Vermelho.

Crop Science 53, 1237–1247 · doi:10.2135/cropsci2012.09.0541

Valente et al., 2024 – Frost damage seen from the air. Used multispectral images from a drone three days after the frost of 20 July 2021 in Minas Gerais. Damage on two young plantations depended on plant age and on position in the terrain, from 6% to 88%.

Remote Sensing 16(18), 3467 · doi:10.3390/rs16183467

Ovalle-Rivera et al., 2015 – Shifts in arabica suitability. Modelled where arabica can grow in the main producing regions under 2050s climates. Brazil, with large areas at low elevations, loses 25% of its suitable area, and suitable climates move upwards.

PLoS ONE 10(4), e0124155 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0124155

Contested
  • Size of the crop: USDA gives 63.0 million bags for marketing year 2025/26 (July–June)1, Conab 56.5 million for the 2025 crop5, and FAO 3,387,724 t for calendar year 2024, which is 56.5 million bags (our calculation).3 A 2025 USDA report notes that Conab and the statistics institute IBGE use their own methods and have historically given lower figures than USDA’s post in Brazil.4
  • Western limit of the Cerrado Mineiro geographical indication: the INPI list of indications of source gives 45°20′ to 49°48′ of longitude11; the list of denominations of origin gives 45°20′ to 48°48′ for the same region.10 The lists do not explain the difference.
  • Year Bourbon reached Brazil: a 2013 genetic study gives 1852, from Réunion14; Arabica varieties cites World Coffee Research with 1860.
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Sources

  1. AUSDA Foreign Agricultural Service (2026). Coffee: World Markets and Trade (July 2026). United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service.
  2. AFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); processed by Our World in Data (2026). Coffee bean production (FAOSTAT, Crops and livestock products, item Coffee, green). FAO via Our World in Data.
  3. AFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2026). FAOSTAT: Crops and livestock products (item “Coffee, green”, element “Production”, 2024). FAO, licence CC BY 4.0.
  4. AFormiga, M. (USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, Brasília) (2025). Brazil: Coffee Annual (BR2025-0013). USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, GAIN report.
  5. ACompanhia Nacional de Abastecimento (Conab) (2026). Acompanhamento da safra brasileira: café, v. 13, safra 2026, n. 3, terceiro levantamento (setembro 2026). Conab, Brasília (ISSN 2318-7913).
  6. AMinistério da Agricultura e Pecuária, Secretaria de Política Agrícola (2026). Sumário Executivo – Café. Ministério da Agricultura e Pecuária (MAPA), Brazil.
  7. AInstituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) Censo Agropecuário 2017: resultados definitivos – produção agropecuária, Brasil. IBGE, Rio de Janeiro.
  8. AOvalle-Rivera, O.; Läderach, P.; Bunn, C.; Obersteiner, M.; Schroth, G. (2015). Projected Shifts in Coffea arabica Suitability among Major Global Producing Regions Due to Climate Change. PLoS ONE 10(4), e0124155. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0124155 · other copies
  9. ADaMatta, F. M.; Ramalho, J. D. C. (2006). Impacts of drought and temperature stress on coffee physiology and production: a review. Brazilian Journal of Plant Physiology 18(1), 55–81. doi:10.1590/S1677-04202006000100006 · other copies
  10. AInstituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI) (2026). Indicações geográficas: denominações de origem reconhecidas (lista atualizada em 20 de outubro de 2026). INPI, Brazil.
  11. AInstituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI) (2026). Indicações geográficas: indicações de procedência reconhecidas (lista atualizada em 27 de outubro de 2026). INPI, Brazil.
  12. AInstituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial (INPI) (2026). Certificado de registro de indicação geográfica BR402025000013-6: Chapada de Minas. INPI, Brazil.
  13. AValverde, O. (1967). A fazenda de café escravocrata, no Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Geografia 29(1), 37ff. (IBGE).
  14. ASetotaw, T. A.; Caixeta, E. T.; Pereira, A. A.; Oliveira, A. C. B. de; Cruz, C. D.; Zambolim, E. M.; Zambolim, L.; Sakiyama, N. S. (2013). Coefficient of parentage in Coffea arabica L. cultivars grown in Brazil. Crop Science 53, 1237–1247. doi:10.2135/cropsci2012.09.0541 · other copies
  15. AGonçalves, P. C. (2014). Searching arms for the farming: immigrants and migrants in São Paulo coffee economy in the late nineteenth century. Revista Brasileira de História 34(67), 283–308. doi:10.1590/S0102-01882014000100013 · other copies
  16. AWorld Bank, Finance and Agro-Industry Unit (1985). Agro-Industry Profiles: Coffee. World Bank.
  17. ALewin, B.; Giovannucci, D.; Varangis, P. (2004). Coffee Markets: New Paradigms in Global Supply and Demand (Agriculture and Rural Development Discussion Paper 3). World Bank, Washington, DC.
  18. AValente, G. F.; Ferraz, G. A. e S.; Schwerz, F.; Faria, R. de O.; Fernandes, F. A.; Marin, D. B. (2024). Remotely Piloted Aircraft for Evaluating the Impact of Frost in Coffee Plants: Interactions between Plant Age and Topography. Remote Sensing 16(18), 3467. doi:10.3390/rs16183467 · other copies
  19. AArquivo Nacional (2014). Instituto Brasileiro do Café (IBC): inventário dos documentos textuais (2nd revised edition). Arquivo Nacional, Rio de Janeiro.
  20. AMinistério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento, Departamento do Café (DECAF) (2003). Relatório de gestão do Funcafé, exercício 2002. MAPA, Brasília.
  21. BEmbrapa Café (2010). Um modelo singular de gestão: a experiência da Embrapa Café junto ao Consórcio Pesquisa Café (Documentos 7). Embrapa Café, Brasília (ISSN 1678-1694).
  22. BConselho dos Exportadores de Café do Brasil (Cecafé) (2026). Relatório mensal maio 2026: exportações brasileiras. Cecafé, São Paulo; read through a copy published by Poder360.
  23. AFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Annex 8: Glossary of terms used by the International Coffee Organisation. FAO.
  24. AZambolim, L. (2016). Current status and management of coffee leaf rust in Brazil. Tropical Plant Pathology 41(1), 1–8. doi:10.1007/s40858-016-0065-9 · other copies
  25. AJohnson, M. A.; Ruiz-Diaz, C. P.; Manoukis, N. C.; Verle Rodrigues, J. C. (2020). Coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei), a global pest of coffee: perspectives from historical and recent invasions, and future priorities. Insects 11(12), 882. doi:10.3390/insects11120882 · other copies
  26. AColodetti, T. V.; Tomaz, M. A.; Sartori, L.; de Salles, R. A.; de Souza, I. V.; Senra, J. F. de B.; Rodrigues, W. N. (2025). From anthesis to harvest: evolution of the fructification of Conilon coffee genotypes grown at a transitional altitude. Bragantia 84, e20250028. doi:10.1590/1678-4499.20250028 · other copies
  27. AWorld Coffee Research Catuai. World Coffee Research, Arabica Coffee Varieties catalogue.
  28. ATeixeira, A. L.; Rocha, R. B.; Espindula, M. C.; Ramalho, A. R.; Vieira Junior, J. R.; Alves, E. A.; Lunz, A. M. P.; Souza, F. de F.; Costa, J. N. M.; Fernandes, C. de F. (2020). Amazonian Robustas – new Coffea canephora coffee cultivars for the Western Brazilian Amazon. Crop Breeding and Applied Biotechnology 20(3), e323420318. doi:10.1590/1984-70332020v20n3c53 · other copies
  29. APaiva, R. N.; Carvalho, C. H. S. de; Mendes, A. N. G.; Almeida, S. R. de; Matiello, J. B.; Ferreira, R. A. (2009). Field performance of coffee progenies (Coffea arabica L.) in Varginha, Minas Gerais State. Coffee Science 4(1).

Tier A · authoritative · B · trade and expert · C · general. Supporting quotes for every source are in the data version of this entry. If a publisher’s site refuses access, try the doi link or “other copies”.

The literature for this entry was last searched on 2 Nov 2026. A statement that no source consulted for this entry shows something refers to the sources above; newer or missing work may exist.

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