In response to prospective American duties of up to 50% on a swathe of Brazilian goods – including coffee – the government has unveiled a rescue and rearmament plan for exporters: a 30bn-real (about US$5.55bn) credit line. Brazil supplies around a third of the world’s coffee and sets the tone for arabica prices. Coffee, long unsubsidised unlike other products such as wine, may be entering a new policy era.
