As Brazil's coffee harvest season approaches, robberies of coffee beans by armed thieves are surging. With coffee prices skyrocketing, organized crime is spreading, and local farmers and cooperatives are responding by mobilizing security personnel and surveillance equipment.

A worker collects arabica coffee beans at a farm in Alfenas, Minas Gerais, a city in southern Brazil. /Courtesy of Reuters=Yonhap News

According to Bloomberg News, there have been ongoing cases of coffee bean theft by armed robbers in major coffee-producing areas, including São Paulo and Minas Gerais.

In April, farmer Donizete Guidini was transporting 30 tons (t) of coffee by truck in São Paulo when he was kidnapped by assailants and abandoned in a sugarcane field. Guidini was threatened with a firearm and had his truck and cargo stolen, which were recovered a few hours later in a nearby rural area.

Brazil is the world's largest coffee producer and exporter, with the harvest season running from May to September. Coffee prices have nearly doubled this year compared to previous years, and in some high-end Arabica varieties, prices exceed 2,500 reais (about 670,000 won) per sack. Local authorities noted that "high-profit agricultural products are becoming prime targets for criminals."

Coffee cooperatives and farmers are enhancing security measures to address the risk of theft. The cooperative "Cocapec" in São Paulo is distributing security manuals to its 3,000 members, which include the installation of closed-circuit (CC) TV systems, access controls, and gate reinforcements, while also providing free insurance during the transport of harvested beans. In case of theft, they have instructed that the priority is human protection over physical responses.

In addition to private responses, State Governments in Minas Gerais, a coffee-producing region in southeastern Brazil, have begun to strengthen public safety. The state government has introduced a rural security model, "Campo Seguro," to address seasonal theft crimes involving coffee, livestock, and seedlings.

However, despite these institutional responses, incidents of armed robbery and theft continue on the ground. In June, a gang of armed robbers stole 95 bags of coffee (worth about $40,000) in Vermelinho Novo, Minas Gerais, taking farm workers hostage. Police later arrested nine suspects, but thefts of beans disappearing from warehouses at night or directly picking coffee from fields continue.

Coffee is considered a difficult item to trace after theft. Brazilian criminal organizations have a structure for distributing stolen beans to small roasteries or small farms without tax or documentation. Farmers on the front lines are hiring night security guards and installing alarms and CCTV at their own expense.

According to the Brazilian Ministry of Justice, cargo thefts decreased from 25,000 cases in 2017 to 10,000 last year, but thefts related to coffee do not show the same trend. The Minas Gerais Industrial Association analyzed that "coffee thefts have actually increased over the past three years," stating that "price increases are the main cause."

The Brazilian coffee industry is struggling not only with theft but also with climate change, logistics bottlenecks, and rising fertilizer costs. Last year's harvest was poor due to drought, and this year extreme heat and dry weather continues. In contrast, Vietnam, the world's second-largest producer, is maintaining a stable production flow centered on the Robusta variety.

Local officials said, "If theft worsens, shocks to the global coffee supply chain are inevitable," highlighting the need for international responses and cooperation.

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