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BRAZIL

The coffee output in Brazil has been below 30 million 60-kg bags because of the severe drought. However, officials said that it is very early to fully quantify the loss. "Whatever we are seeing in the coffee harvest in Brazil is very serious. We have calculated that 65 per cent of the Brazilian crop has been strongly affected by the drought,' said Manoel Vicente Bertone, vice-president of Brazil's National Coffee Council. He added that some farms have been completely destroyed by the drought.

But the area thought to be worst-hit by the drought, Minas Gerais, had only 65 per cent of its crop area affected, Bertone said, despite reports of a 273-mm rainfall Brazilian soil is moisture deficit.

"Brazilian producers react to prices. They will increase plantings based on prices reached in the coming months,' Bertone added.

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