Brazil Farmers Remove Dead Coffee Trees, Some Switching To Grains

Brazilian farmers who had coffee fields severely damaged a month ago by the worst frosts in 27 years have started taking out dead trees to make room for new plantings, with some of them planning to switch part of the affected land over to grains.

Farmers in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state, the top coffee area in the country, are pruning the trees impacted by the frosts and in some cases taking the trees out altogether, using tractors, when they see that the plant has died.

Clearing coffee trees for soy and corn could allow Brazilian farmers to profit from high grains prices early next year when the row crops are harvested but fewer coffee trees in the world’s top producer could lead to years of higher coffee prices for consumers.

The worst cold front to hit Brazil’s coffee producing area since 1994 is estimated by the government to have hit 11% of the planted area, potentially hurting production prospects for the next two seasons and likely driving the global coffee market to a supply deficit.

ESM