Report Says Coffee Continues to Erase Brazil's Forests, Exacerbating Climate Shocks

"A new report from the nonprofit Coffee Watch says that modern coffee production in Brazil continues to be a significant driver of deforestation, with hundreds of thousands of hectares of native forest cleared inside coffee farm boundaries since 2001. Beyond the global implications for biodiversity and climate change, the continued loss of forest in key coffee regions presents economic threats to the Brazilian coffee sector, driving a cycle of drought and yield volatility, according to the report."

"The 34-page report, "Wake Up and Smell the Deforestation," combines satellite and land-use datasets to map coffee's direct and indirect footprint across Brazil's major growing regions. Among its key findings are that at least 312,803 hectares of intact forest were directly converted to coffee between 2001 and 2023, while about 737,000 hectares of forest were lost inside coffee farm boundaries over the same period."

"Approximately 77% of that forest loss was in the Cerrado and 20% was in the Atlantic Forest, with the densest losses occurring in Minas Gerais, Brazil's dominant coffee-producing state. "Brazil's dominance as the world's top coffee exporter is rooted in a long history of forest destruction - and the same extractive model still underpins it," the report states. "Coffee is not just a legacy driver of deforestation - it remains a present and growing force behind it.""

Modern coffee production in Brazil has converted hundreds of thousands of hectares of native forest inside coffee farm boundaries since 2001. At least 312,803 hectares of intact forest were directly converted to coffee between 2001 and 2023, while about 737,000 hectares were lost inside coffee farm boundaries over the same period. Roughly 77% of forest loss occurred in the Cerrado and 20% in the Atlantic Forest, with densest losses in Minas Gerais. Deforestation contributes to regional climate changes and chronic droughts, which reduce yields, increase market volatility, and pose long-term economic risks to the coffee sector.

Read at Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine