By Ana Mano
SAO PAULO (Reuters) -China has approved 183 new Brazilian coffee companies to export products to the Chinese market, according to a social media post of the Chinese embassy in Brazil on Saturday.
The measure, a boon to local exporters after the United States government’s announcement of steep tariffs on Brazilian coffee and other products, took effect on July 30.
The new Chinese export permits are valid for five years, according to the post.
The U.S.’s 50% tariff on some Brazilian products will begin on August 6.
The levy represents a challenge for commodities traders and Brazilian coffee exporters, who need to find alternatives for the roughly 8 million bags sold to U.S. coffee processors every year.
China is Brazil’s top trade partner overall while the U.S. is a big buyer of Brazilian beef and orange juice, among other products.
In June, Brazilian coffee exports into the U.S. totaled 440,034 60-kilo bags, 7,87 times more than Brazil’s sales into China of nearly 56,000 bags that month, according to trade data compiled by industry lobby Cecafe.
The Brazilian ministry of agriculture and Cecafe did not have an immediate comment.
China’s customs authority could not be immediately reached as it was outside the business hours.
Brazil supplies about a third of the U.S. coffee demand each year, a trade valued at $4.4 billion in the 12 months ended in June.
(Reporting by Ana Mano in Sao Paulo and additional reporting by Ella Cao in Beijing; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
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