SAO PAULO, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's coffee exports to China have more than doubled in the past five years, driven by the popularity of cafes among young urbanites, an industry expert said on Thursday.
"The transformation that China is undergoing when it comes to coffee is spectacular," Eduardo Heron Dos Santos, technical director of the national Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafe), told Xinhua.
"We now export double what we did five years ago ... Brazilian producers and exporters must discuss a planning strategy for China to meet the growing demand," said Dos Santos.
Cafes have been mushrooming across China in recent years and Brazil is benefiting from the craze.
According to Cecafe, Brazil's exports of coffee to China shot up by 110.33 percent from 2015 to 2019.
In 2015, the South American country sold 84,352 bags of coffee to the Asian giant. By 2019, that number rose to 177,419 bags.
Coffee's rapid rise in traditionally tea-drinking China is due to the growth of such chains as Luckin Coffee and Starbucks in major Chinese cities, said Dos Santos.
Cecafe's president, Nelson Carvalhaes, stressed the importance to Cecafe and exporters around the world of the China International Import Expo (CIIE), which was held in Shanghai in November for the second year in a row.
"These kinds of trade talks with the world are a great opportunity for Brazilian coffee," said Carvalhaes.
