Coffee Crushed as Slumping Real Spurs Brazil Sales
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The weakest Brazilian real in four years is accelerating coffee shipments from the biggest growing nation, adding to a glut that is cutting costs for Starbucks Corp. and Kraft Foods Group Inc.
First-half shipments were 20 percent higher than a year earlier at 13.385 million bags, or 803,000 metric tons, the Brazilian Trade Ministry said July 1. The real’s 9.4 percent retreat in the second quarter, the most among 24 major emerging-market currencies, increased revenue from dollar-denominated coffee sales and encouraged exporters to tap stockpiles that are the biggest since 2007.