Brazil May Produce 40 Million Bags of Coffee in Next Harvest

By Carlos Caminada
for Bloomberg Press

Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil, the world's biggest coffee grower, may produce as much as 40 million bags of the beans in the coming crop, almost matching the current harvest, helped by rainfall and investment in fertilizers, an industry leader said.

Rising coffee prices this year prompted farmers to spend more on additives to boost yields next year, Guilherme Braga, general director of Brazil's coffee exporters' council, said in an interview from Sao Paulo. Regular rainfall through March will further increase productivity, he said. Farmers will reap 41.6 million bags in the crop year ending this month, the Agriculture Ministry said Aug. 25.