Drought hits Brazil coffee harvest

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 17 (AFP): Coffee output in Brazil, the world's chief exporter, will slide this year after the worst drought in decades, agricultural agency Conab said Tuesday.

The drought hampered the development of plants, causing the arabica crop to plummet 16.1 per cent, Conab said.

"Brazil should this year produce 45.1 million 60kg bags" of arabica and robusta crops, the main kinds of bean cultivated for drinking, Conab indicated.

"This represents a drop of 8.16 per cent .. compared with the last harvest.

"The change is down to the arabica variety, which fell 16.1 per cent," added Conab, an offshoot of the ministry of agriculture.

Latest forecasts are for an arabica crop of 32.1 million bags, the variety accounting for a three-quarters share of Brazil's overall harvest.

Conab blamed a severe drought which lasted for more than two months early this year for the slump.

Frosts had already damaged plantations in southern Parana state last year before the drought dealt a second blow to Brazil's two-year coffee-growing cycle.

This year's fall-off in production will be felt more keenly given that output in even-numbered years is larger than in odd-numbered ones.