SAO PAULO: Brazil’s top robusta coffee producer, the state of Espirito Santo, expects to repeat in 2025 the large export volume it achieved this year, when the country became an alternative for supplies from Vietnam, the world’s largest robusta grower.

Espirito Santo state accounted for 6.6 million bags of the total Brazilian robusta exports of 8.7 million bags from January to November, according to the Coffee Commerce Center of Vitoria (CCCV), the industry group gathering market participants in the state.

CCCV’s head Fabricio Tristao said that including arabica coffee and instant coffee, the state will ship nearly 11 million bags in 2024, adding that the number shows more than 300% growth from two years ago. Total Brazilian robusta exports will likely end the year above 9 million bags, from little more than 4 million bags last year. The country gained a large share of the global trade for that type of coffee in 2024 due to limited availability of robustas from Vietnam, who faced weather woes.

Robustas are largely used to make instant coffee, but have gained popularity in the industry both as a blend with arabica coffee in roasted ground offerings as well as a single origin product, due to quality improvement. “For next year, we expect to keep similar volumes of shipments,” said Tristao, who is also an executive for trader Olam. According to him, the crop in the state is developing well so far.

Most analysts see Brazil’s 2025 robusta crop in better shape than the arabica coffee crop, which suffered more with extended dry periods in regions such as Minas Gerais and Sao Paulo.