Coffee Prices End the Week Higher as the Brazilian Real Strengthens
Dubai – Qahwa World
March arabica coffee (KCH26) finished Friday’s session up by +1.50 (+0.40%), while January ICE robusta (RMF26) added +26 (+0.57%).
Coffee futures reached their highest levels in a week on Friday, supported by a stronger Brazilian real. As the real (^USDBRL) advanced to a one-week peak against the US dollar, Brazilian growers were less inclined to sell, prompting short covering in the market.
Weather concerns continue to contribute to upward pressure on prices. Arabica markets are receiving support from ongoing dryness in Brazil. Somar Meteorologia reported that Minas Gerais—Brazil’s largest arabica-producing region—recorded 26.4 mm of rainfall in the week ending November 21, representing just 49% of the long-term average. Robusta prices are also firm as forecasts predict heavy rains across Dak Lak in Vietnam, the country’s key coffee-growing province, which are expected to further postpone the current harvest.
Falling ICE coffee stockpiles remain a bullish factor. US tariffs on Brazilian coffee imports have sharply reduced inventories. Arabica stocks monitored by ICE dropped to 398,645 bags last Thursday, the lowest level in 1.75 years, while robusta inventories hit a 6.5-month low of 4,530 lots on Friday. American importers have canceled new orders from Brazil due to tariff pressures, tightening domestic supply. Between August and October—after the tariffs were introduced—US purchases of Brazilian coffee fell by 52% year-on-year to 983,970 bags. Roughly one-third of the coffee imported unroasted into the US typically originates from Brazil.
Last Friday, arabica futures slumped to a 7-week low after President Trump signed an executive order late Thursday removing tariff restrictions on Brazilian food goods, including the 40% levy previously applied to Brazilian coffee.
On the bearish side, StoneX projected last Wednesday that Brazil could produce 70.7 million bags of coffee in the 2026/27 marketing year, including 47.2 million bags of arabica—a 29% increase from the previous year.
Robusta markets also face pressure from expanding supply out of Vietnam. Data from the Vietnam National Statistics Office on November 6 showed that coffee exports for January–October 2025 rose by 13.4% year-on-year to 1.31 million metric tons. Production for the 2025/26 season is expected to grow by 6% year-on-year to 1.76 million metric tons (29.4 million bags), reaching a four-year high. In addition, the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (Vicofa) stated on October 24 that, provided weather conditions remain favorable, the country’s 2025/26 crop could exceed last year’s output by 10%. Vietnam remains the world’s largest producer of robusta.
Signs of tightening global supply continue to underpin prices. The International Coffee Organization (ICO) reported on November 7 that global coffee exports for the ongoing marketing year (October–September) slipped by 0.3% year-on-year to 138.658 million bags.
Further support emerged after Brazil’s crop agency Conab reduced its 2025 arabica production estimate on September 4. The new estimate stands at 35.2 million bags, down 4.9% from the May forecast of 37.0 million bags. Conab also revised the country’s total 2025 coffee crop downward to 55.2 million bags, compared with the earlier estimate of 55.7 million bags.
According to the USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service (FAS) outlook released on June 25, global coffee production for 2025/26 is expected to rise by 2.5% year-on-year to a record 178.68 million bags. The report anticipates arabica production will fall by 1.7% to 97.022 million bags, while robusta output will rise 7.9% to 81.658 million bags. FAS also forecasts Brazil’s 2025/26 crop increasing by 0.5% to 65 million bags and Vietnam’s output jumping 6.9% to 31 million bags, marking a four-year high. Ending stocks for 2025/26 are projected to grow by 4.9% to 22.819 million bags, up from 21.752 million bags in 2024/25.
