Sao Paulo, Aug 6 - Brazil exported 1.96 million 60-kg bags of green coffee in July, from 1.79 million bags in the same month a year ago, the Council of Green Coffee Exporters, Cecafe, said on Thursday.
The world's No. 1 coffee producer is in the middle of the 2009/10 harvest, which is a low-output year in its biennial cycle in which production rises and falls from one year to the next.
Though a larger quantity was shipped in July than last year, revenue generated from these sales fell almost 12 percent, Cecafe data showed. Shipments of arabica were higher this year but the quantity of robusta was less than half that in July 2008.
Brokers and exporters say sales of coffee have been slow in the last month or two due to the European and North American summer holiday period. Growers have also been reluctant to sell in the expectation of an increase in the coffee price.
Prices for coffee have firmed, helped by investor buying, traders say, and a commitment by Brazil's government to buy a significant quantity of its producers' export-grade Arabica if necessary to tighten the supply and push up the price.
Out-of-season rains have also damaged some Brazilian produce this year, causing beans that were drying in the open air to ferment and lose quality, but the weather has since turned dry and warm for the time of year.
BRAZIL JULY COFFEE EXPORTS (60-kg bags)
ROBUSTA ARABICA GREEN SOLUBLE TOTAL TOTAL
VOLUME RECEIPTS
JULY-09 131,322 1,837,331 1,968,653 215,918 2,184,571 301,151
JULY-08 281,901 1,509,191 1,791,092 296,046 2,087,138 341,128
PCT
CHANGE -53 +21.7 +9.9 -27.1 +4.7 -11.7