Preliminary
assessment of the damage caused by Brazil’s frost expected to show bigger coffee
losses
According
to a preliminary assessment by the Brazilian government which is not yet
released officially to the public, is expected to affect from 5 million to 10
million bags, or as much as 600 million kilograms (1.3 billion pounds) in final
production, cited by a government official who asked not to be identified
because the data is not formal. The loss can be measured as a third of what
Americans drink in a year because of the heavy frost ravaged fields in the
world’s biggest producer.
Frost
has posed a threat to coffee trees ever since the crop was first brought to
Brazil in the 18th century. Major producing states in Brazil, such as Minas
Gerais, are more frost prone than growing regions in other major Arabica coffee
producing countries such as Colombia and Ethiopia.
Sub-zero
temperatures, around -3°C to -4°C (when ice crystals form in the plant's cells)
are lethal, destroying flower buds, flowers and fruits, and causing frost burn
on leaves, which in severe cases leads to complete defoliation of the coffee
tree.
The
severest form of damage is due to the formation of ice crystals, which puncture
the cells within the affected plant parts, causing them turn black and die,
ultimately leading to the death of the plant. Frost can be particularly
devastating after a long period of drought, such as experienced this season, as
leaves may have wilted already making them susceptible to low temperatures and
frost.
The
government is still assessing the damage, and once that’s finished in the
coming weeks, an official estimate will be released, the person said.