Brasília - Mapping the coffee genome is of interest to Brazil because it will open numerous possibilities for the sector. Genetic knowledge can lead to genetic improvements that result in greater production at a lower cost, resistance to disease and drought, different varieties and aromas, as well as a more nutritional product with a higher aggregate value for both domestic and foreign markets.

Brazil is the world's biggest producer and exporter of coffee. It produces one third of all the coffee in the world and exports an annual average of 22 million sacks. Coffee cropland occupies a total of 2.7 million hectares in two thousand municipalities scattered over sixteen states. Because Brazil produces coffee in so many different parts of the country, there is a large variety in types of Brazilian coffee - something for every taste and pocketbook (it is estimated that there are 40 different coffee brands in Brazil). The sector employees 6 million people and has total annual revenue of around US$4 billion, of which half is from exports (however, coffee is only 2% of total Brazilian exports).

Coffee has been grown in Brazil since colonial times. Recently Brazil has doubled the productivity of its coffee croplands and gone up market by cultivating more specialty types, such as arabic and robust, which are the most popular among consumers. There is a good reason for that: while coffee consumption worldwide has been rising annually at around 1.5%, the demand for special and organic coffees has been rising 15% a year.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Maurício Cardoso
Translator: Allen Bennett
09/09/2004