Producers in Brazil have harvested 47 percent of the world's leading coffee crop by July 5, well behind the 60 percent last year at this time, independent analysts Safras e Mercado said on Thursday.
But the past few weeks of dry weather have allowed producers to make up ground lost to May-June rains that set back the harvest, which Safras put at 41.3 million 60-kg bags, up from 30.9 million bags in 2003/04.
Last week, 41 percent of the crop had been collected.
Relatively little new crop coffee has been processed.
"Harvesting lost about two or three weeks to rain in May and June but should begin to close the gap with last year's rates, given the several weeks of good weather we've had," Safras' coffee specialist Gil Barabach said.
Most coffee areas have had above average rainfall in June. South Minas has had between 86 percent and 120 percent more than usual and the Alegre arabica area in southern Espirito Santo 72 percent extra. May was also wet.
Weather in the coffee regions is usually dry from May to September.
Minas Gerais state that produces 50 percent of Brazil's coffee output has harvested 34 percent of its crop, said Barabach, compared with 42 percent at this week in 2003.
But southern Minas region said its harvest was behind the state average due to rain in previous months.
"We estimate the south Minas harvest at no more than 30 percent," said Joaquim Goulart de Andrade, chief agronomist at Brazil's biggest coffee co-operative, Cooxupe, in south Minas. "The bulk of the regions harvest will occur in July-August."
But Andrade said humidity levels in the region were still rather high, which would slow the drying process and could hurt the quality of the region's beans, the majority of which are dried naturally on sun patios.
"We'll have a better idea of the quality in 15 to 30 days," added Andrade.
South Minas accounts for 25 percent of Brazil's coffee output. The region grows only arabica.
In the Cerrado region, another major producing region further north in Minas, the technical department at the Caccer co-operative reported 30 percent to 35 percent of the crop had been harvested.
"The sun has been good for drying in the past month or so and yields are good," an agronomist at Caccer said.
Espirito Santo state, Brazil's No 2 coffee producer and main robusta grower, harvested 68 percent of its crop by this week compared with 62 percent last week and 89 percent a year ago.
Safras said producers had sold 24 percent of the new crop by the end of June physically or in forward contracts, compared with 15 percent in May and 19 percent by June, 2003.
Minas had sold 25 percent of its crop by June 30 compared with 17 percent by the end of June, 2003, and Espirito Santos had sold 27 percent compared with 23 percent a year earlier, Safras said.
"There was a good flow of arabica beans in June which helped forward sales," said Barabach. "June was good for robusta sales by producers as well."
The old crop beans have been 97 percent sold, compared with 91 percent a year ago, said Barabach.
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