According to data just released by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Brazil produced 143.6 million bags of coffee from 2003 to 2006. From that total, 103.1 million were exported, generating a US$ 9.4 billion revenue in the period.
According to a government official, the budget of the Coffee Economy Defense Fund (Funcafé) was US$ 1.9 billion between 2003 and 2006, of which US$ 7.6 million went into advertising and US$ 15.5 million went into research. The funds of Funcafé invested in research included the genome sequencing work developed by Embrapa.
"The sequencing will allow for Embrapa to detect, for example, the strengths of different varieties of coffee regarding their resistance to drought, to plagues and diseases, their flavor, aroma, and productivity," explained Costa Lima. The information was supplied by the Ministry of Agriculture.
Brazil should produce 41.6 million 60 kg bags of coffee this year, according to a study by the National Food Supply Company (Conab). The volume represents growth of 26.2%, or 8.6 million bags more than in the previous harvest, which totaled 32.94 million bags.
On the other hand, a research by the Federal University of Minas Gerais shows that coffee may be a source for production of biodiesel, according to information published earlier this year. Biodiesel may be produced from coffee oil, made from damaged coffee grains, which are not used for human consumption.