Brazil's 2008/09 coffee crop was forecast at 45.5 million 60-kg bags, up from the 41.3 million to 44.2 million bag range projected in April, the agriculture ministry's crop supply department, Conab, said Thursday. That would mean a harvest 35 percent bigger than the 33.74 million bags gathered in 2007/08.
"The increase is basically due to the biennial upswing and the farms' recovery with the return of regular rainfall in the second half of last October," Conab said in a report.
Brazil's crop suffered from an extended dry spell last season, but rains have been favourable in most of the main growing regions since late October, allowing trees to recover most of their productive potential.
In its second forecast of the new crop, Conab said arabica beans would make up the bulk of Brazil's coffee output this season with 34.7 million bags, versus the 31.5 million to 33.7 million bags estimated last month and the 23.8 million bags harvested last year.
The robusta bean crop was projected at 10.8 million bags, compared with the 9.8 million to 10.5 million bags estimated in April and the 10.3 million bags harvested last season.