SAO PAULO: Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry published the rules companies should follow to bring into the country robusta coffee from Vietnam in its official gazette on Monday, marking the first time the world’s largest producer will buy coffee abroad. The publication was the last step required for the local coffee industry to start buying Vietnamese robusta cargos to address a local supply tightness after two years of drought in the main robusta-producing state of Espirito Santo hurt output.
The decree basically addresses the procedures Brazil expects Vietnamese authorities will follow in the preparation of shipments, particularly the need to fumigate the beans to kill the Trogoderma granarium insect. If a shipment arrives in Brazil without the proper information regarding the fumigation it will not be allowed to unload, under the rules. If the insect, a type of beetle, or any other with no prior record of existence in Brazil is found in any shipments, all imports will be suspended, the decree says. Brazil opened a quota to import 1 million 60-kg bags of coffee from Vietnam, with a total monthly volume no larger than 250,000 bags. Import tax was set at 2 percent.
