The coffee crop in Brazil, the world’s top producing country, and the crop from Colombia, the world’s third top producing country are surpassing previous expectations according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) foreign officials. Combined harvest output from the two countries will be 2 million bags above forecasts with Brazilian output being only 3.5 million bags down year on year according to the USDA Brasilia bureau. Robusta coffee production in Brazil’s Espirito Santo region which escaped the worst of the country’s drought and is where plantations are widely irrigated, was revised up by 13% or 600,000 bags to a record 17 million bags. The Arabica harvest was revised upward by 13.4% or 900,000 bags to reach 34.2 million bags. Crop quality was also surprising, being rated as better than 2013. Colombia, which grows only Arabica beans, saw its output lifted by 300,000 bags to a seven year high of 12.3 million bags as trees planted in a 2009 scheme to combat rust fungus begin to come into production. To read further about expected coffee exports for the two countries:
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