Brazil’s Government Fears Bigger Coffee Losses From Frost Blow
- Amount is more than one-third of what Americans drink per year
- Crop damage in world’s biggest supplier signals price hikes
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Government officials in Brazil are bracing for coffee crop losses that amount to more than a third of what Americans drink in a year after a heavy frost ravaged fields in the world’s biggest producer.
That’s according to a preliminary assessment by the Brazilian government, which is expecting a hit of anywhere from 5 million bags to 10 million bags, or as much as 600 million kilograms (1.3 billion pounds) destroyed, said a government official who asked not to be identified because the data is not formal and is only being circulated internally. The highest estimate among analysts previously compiled by Bloomberg was 8.8 million bags.