Frosts were reported in several agricultural areas in Brazil over the weekend, including coffee and sugarcane production regions, and cooperatives and companies expected some impact as they assessed the situation. Cane, coffee, late-planted winter corn and wheat are the most vulnerable crops in Brazil's south and southeast regions, where frosts were reported as the country was hit by the most intense polar air mass so far this year.
Sugar companies and coffee cooperatives sent agronomists to the fields for a better evaluation. Sugar and ethanol maker Sao Martinho SA said that 12,000 hectares of its cane fields were hit by frosts. However, it said it expects eventual losses to production to be minor. Coffee cooperative Minasul, in top producer Minas Gerais state, said frosts hit mostly low-lying areas and mountaintops. "We are still evaluating, but it seems clear that there will be some impact to production," Minasul President José Marcos Magalhães told Reuters on Monday. A better assessment for coffee and sugar cane fields will probably take a few days.
Brazil is in the middle of coffee harvesting, and any impact would be felt only in next year's crop. Traders were expecting a record crop in 2020, when the country returns to the on-year in the biennial arabica cycle. But it is unclear now whether production could surpass the 2018 record near 62 million 60-kg (132 lb) bags.