Brazil Coffee March Exports Up 9.5% at 3.05 Million Bags, CeCafe Says

  SAO PAULO--Brazilian coffee exports grew 9.5% in March from the same month last year, the Council

of Coffee Exporters of Brazil, or CeCafe, said Wednesday,.

  Exports of the beans increased to 3.05 million 132-pound bags in the month, bringing in $552.3

million, the group said. The dollar value of the exports was up 24% over that last year.

  Exports included 2.4 million bags of the arabica variety of coffee and 340,400 bags of the robusta

variety. A total of 296,895 bags of roasted, ground and soluble coffee were exported in the month.

  Brazil is the world's biggest grower and exporter of coffee. A drought in important coffee-growing

areas last year and dry, hot weather earlier this season cut the size of both the crop last year and

the one to be harvested starting in June. The smaller crops have supported prices in international

markets.