Brazil sees good coffee harvest

Good news for coffee-drinkers: Brazil's next coffee crop is looking promising.

“Flowering of coffee trees was quite intense, quite impressive, and suggests we are having great quality this year," said Mario Ferraz, director of the Coffee Growers Cooperative in Guaxupe, according to David Fleischer, a professor at the University of Brasilia.

Dry weather is forecast for the next few weeks, which should help the beans develop. The 2012 harvest begins in May.

Brazil accounts for about 30 percent of global coffee exports and its production is expected to rise to between 57.5 million to 60 million bags next year, from 47.5 million this year, reports Bloomberg.

But the coffee crop elsewhere isn't faring as well. Coffee futures rose to a one-month high today as heavy rains continued in Central America and Asia. 

Follow Stephanie on Twitter: @stephaniegarlow 

Will you support The World today?

The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!