Brazil's drought continues, the yield of raw coffee beans is worrying in the next season, and farmers give up growing coffee.

Coffee to grain

Brazilian farmers, whose coffee fields have suffered the worst frost in 27 years and suffered heavy damage, plan to switch to cereal crops after clearing their fields of frost-withered coffee plants, Reuters reported on August 24.

Growing soybeans and corn is one of Brazil's most profitable farming practices. Unlike coffee, a crop that takes years to harvest, soybeans can be planted in spring and harvested in summer. Farmers from lower elevations tend to plant grain to avoid future frosts.

According to local government estimates, up to 11% of the planted area will be affected by the severe frost disaster, which will damage coffee production for at least the next two seasons and may lead to insufficient supply in the global coffee market.

Brazil continues drought, coffee production worries

If Brazil doesn't get another rain in the coming weeks, the lack of spring rainfall will affect coffee flowering, traders will flood the coffee market and coffee prices will be hit again.

Rain in early September may bring forward flowering, which will help assess the impact of drought and frost on future seasons, allowing investors to assess changes in the coffee market. Brazil's coffee crop could suffer a devastating blow next year if the rains fall short of expectations.

Rainfall in September in Brazil's main energy producing regions hit by drought may still be well below average, Reuters reported on August 27.

Transportation costs rise, consumers pay for it

Common goods such as grain are usually shipped in bulk, while coffee is shipped in containers.

More than 18 months after the outbreak of the new crown epidemic worldwide, global supply chains have been increasingly damaged, triggering shortages of consumer goods and making it more expensive to transport goods, CNN reported on Aug.23.

The partial closure of the world's third-busiest container port is disrupting China's other ports, straining supply chains even further. The supply chain has been affected by a series of recent events, such as the "No.1 Hard to Find" at Yantian Port, the continued shortage of containers, the closure of the Singapore Crown Vietnam factory, and the subsequent impact of the Suez Canal cargo ship grounding accident since March.

Reuters reported early on Aug.6 that supply chains inside and outside Brazil were affected by measures to curb the epidemic and demand bottlenecks, making cargo shipments problematic even at higher prices. German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said coffee was not the only cargo affected.

Shipping companies expect the global crisis to continue, raising freight transport costs and increasing pressure on consumer prices.

Burning coffin in front of presidential palace

About 150 indigenous people set fire to a giant coffin in front of Brazil's presidential palace on Friday in protest.

Some 6000 indigenous people from 176 tribes came to Brazil's capital to denounce a proposal to set an end date for their land titles in 1988. Brazil's Supreme Court was due to rule earlier this week but postponed its ruling until next week on Thursday, saying it would reconvene on Wednesday to hear the case.

This landmark ruling will determine whether indigenous peoples have the right to reclaim lands that were granted by Brazil's Constitution prior to 1988.

The AXIOS news website reported on August 26 that Brazilian state governments and agricultural departments tried to limit indigenous claims by invoking legal cut-offs, arguing that indigenous communities did not occupy these lands when the Constitution was passed, while indigenous people said they had to flee their ancestral lands because landlords tried to kill them.

Brazil to inject booster shot next month

Brazil's Ministry of Health said Wednesday that starting in mid-September, Brazil will inject the new crown vaccine for people with weak immune function and those over 70 years old.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health said the booster shots would use vaccines from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson or Pfizer.

Also starting in September, the interval between the first and second doses of all vaccines administered in Brazil, Pfizer and AstraZeneca, will be shortened from 12 weeks to 8 weeks.

According to Brazil's Ministry of Health, 123.9 million people in Brazil have received at least one dose of the new crown vaccine, accounting for about 59 per cent of the total population. The number of fully vaccinated people is about 55.7 million, accounting for about 26.5% of Brazil's national population.

According to the official website of the World Health Organization, as of 5:33 p.m. local time on August 27, Brazil has accumulated 20645537 confirmed cases of new crown pneumonia and 576645 deaths.

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