A new cold weather front moving north through Brazil's main coffee belt will bring more heavy rain to Minas Gerais and other important producer states, private meteorologist Somar predicted Monday.
The Varginha district of south Minas and the forested coffee area of eastern Minas will be wettest with more than 80 millimeters (3.1 inches) of rain forecast for the coming five days.
"Due to heavy cloud, temperatures will be cool over most of the region," Somar said in a daily report. However, Parana in southern Brazil and the north-eastern state of Bahia will be dry. In its 10-day extended forecast, Somar said the weather will remain wet over the next 10 days with heavy rain forecast in south-east Brazil. Parana and Bahia will get little rain.
Most coffee growing regions have received average or above-average rainfall in January. The Pocos de Caldas district of south Minas has been wettest with nearly 600 millimeters (23.6 inches) of rain, or 89 percent more than average for January.
Southwest Sao Paulo has had 65 percent, Mogiana 64 percent, Parana 54 percent and Minas Cerrado 30 percent more rain than usual in January. In contrast, the forested region of Espirito Santo has gotten 45 percent less rain than average for the month.