Source:Best Coffee > News Author:qjroot Published:2024-10-15 18:39:26
According to Brazilian media reports and the Sao Paulo State Civil Defense, an earlier severe storm accompanied by record-breaking strong winds struck the city of Sao Paulo and its metropolitan area, causing at least 7 deaths, power outages for 2.1 million residents and commercial users, and resulting in traffic paralysis, business shutdowns and disruption to residents' daily lives.
According to the Civil Defense, wind speeds of 107 km/h were recorded during the storm, the highest since 1995, surpassing the 103.7 km/h wind speed set last November. This caused accidents; the incidents occurred in the evening, and because strong winds destroyed some buildings, collapsed walls and toppled large trees, 7 people tragically lost their lives.
According to a report by Enel SP, 14 hours after the storm ended, 1.6 million users still had not had their power restored, and currently more than 400,000 users' power supply has still not been restored. The Minister of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) stated in the state capital of Sao Paulo that Enel SP will restore power within the next 3 days, otherwise it will face heavy penalties.
But during this period, the impact of heavy rain on the state was extremely severe. The Sao Paulo fire department and civil defense authorities handled more than 500 rainstorm-related incidents across the state, including fallen trees and collapsed walls. In addition, some power towers were also damaged, and the power supply system was disrupted, affecting households and business operations in multiple cities and causing serious economic losses.
The power outages not only affected the daily lives of many households, but business operations also encountered major obstacles, including small businesses and some large manufacturing operations. Many owners faced problems with inventory backlogs and being unable to deliver goods, directly dealing a blow to Brazil's economy. At one point, water supply was even affected. Because the power supply was interrupted, the operation of tap water pumping stations and booster machinery was affected. These boosters are the equipment that sends tap water to high places, so water supply was interrupted in some high-mountain areas.
Sao Paulo state is one of Brazil's main coffee-producing regions, but since the start of this year, Sao Paulo state has been continuously affected by frequent severe weather. Earlier, the entire South America suffered from severe drought and wildfires, with Brazil being especially hard hit. According to reports, about 22.38 million hectares of forest land in Brazil were burned by fires, and the fire situation in Sao Paulo state was severe. In August, 46 cities in the state declared a state of emergency due to the fires.
However, by early October, Brazil's meteorological agency predicted that most parts of southern Brazil, including Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo state, as well as Goias and Minas states, could receive up to 100 mm of rainfall. However, due to historically strong winds, storms occurred, destroying some power supply facilities, buildings and trees, causing 7 deaths and multiple injuries, with power outages in multiple cities and severe impact. In some areas, power supply had still not been restored after 3 accumulated days.
Currently, the Brazilian coffee harvest has already been completed, and the crop is now in the planting stage of the new season, but fires have destroyed some coffee plantations, causing severe losses. In addition, although this storm can ease the dry weather, it is very limited. According to reports, the October rainfall in Sao Paulo state is only 15.21 mm, far below the historical average rainfall of 124.46 mm. Moreover, the high temperatures continue, with the average October temperature of around 26°C being 6.5°C higher than the historical average of 19.5°C. In addition, Minas Gerais, Brazil's largest coffee-producing region, received 33.4 mm of rain in the most recent week, below normal levels. Such climate conditions will be unfavorable for coffee growth in the new season, and many Brazilian coffee institutions are downgrading their new-season production estimates, expecting a decline of more than 6.8%.
Brazil's 2024/25 coffee crop has already been harvested and is currently at the processing and export stage. But in Sao Paulo state, coffee processing plants are mainly concentrated in the southern part of the state near the Port of Santos, and they are now affected by power outages, leading to problems such as inventory backlogs and inability to deliver goods, which may adversely affect coffee production and quality. In addition, the power outages have had a certain impact on transportation and port operations, which will worsen port delays and is unfavorable for coffee exports.
As coffee production in Brazil, Vietnam and other countries remains below expectations, coffee prices are still at high levels. ICE arabica coffee futures rose 3.71%, and coffee "C" futures rose 3.71%. Robusta coffee futures rose 3.40%. If conditions in Brazil still do not improve in the future, prices will remain at high levels.
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