(Bloomberg) -- China’s Luckin Coffee Inc. agreed to buy an equivalent of 4 million bags of beans from the world’s top exporter Brazil between 2025 and 2029, signaling continued demand from one of the fastest growing markets.
The love for coffee in China is relatively new, with the country only recently showing up as a major buyer in a market that has the US and Europe as top consumers. Brazilian coffee exports to China were insignificant a decade ago, but last year the Asian nation emerged as the sixth-largest market for Brazilian coffee beans.
Brazilian green coffee exports to China reached a record of more than 1.3 million bags in 2023, according to data from the country’s Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services. While data for this year suggests a slowdown, shipments from January through October are still above the historical average for that period.
The agreement with China’s top coffee chain ensures the flow of beans to the Asian nation remains at elevated levels for the remainder of the decade. The deal is between Luckin and Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, and follows a previous partnership signed in June, when the Chinese company agreed to buy the equivalent of 2 million bags by the end of 2024.
The deal will be signed in a ceremony on Tuesday, and coincides with the visit of China’s President Xi Jinping to Brazil for the G-20 summit. Other announcements involving trade between the two nations are expected during the summit this week.
Details on which companies will be supplying Luckin weren’t disclosed.
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