Brazil's Farmers Refuse to Sell Coffee, Waiting on a Price Miracle
- Ample supplies have driven prices to lowest in 13 years
- Growers face prospect of another bumper crop this season
Workers tend to coffee plants at a plantation in Machado, Minas Gerais State, Brazil.
Photographer: Rodrigo Capote/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Coffee farmers in Brazil, the world’s largest producer and exporter, are refusing to sell their beans after arabica futures dropped to the lowest in more than 13 years.
After collecting a record crop last year, growers face the prospect of another bumper harvest this season. That underscores why hedge funds are wagering on further declines. But farmers are hoarding their beans, hoping for a “miraculous” price recovery, Nelson Salvaterra, a broker at Rio de Janeiro-based Coffee New Selection, said in a telephone interview.