Why Trump's tariffs could be disaster for Brazil's acai industry, American consumers

Belem (Brazil) | When US President Donald Trump imposed tariffs of 50 per cent on Brazilian exports in July, acai producer Ailson Ferreira Moreira felt immediately concerned.

After all, who was going to eat all of that Amazon berry, globally famous as a delicious, refreshing and nutritious superfood, if American consumers suddenly could no longer afford it? As the main importer of the Brazilian berry, prices of acai smoothies and bowls look certain to go up in the United States.

“The acai that's all produced here ... If only people here eat it, it's going to be a lot of acai, right?” Moreira told The Associated Press outside of Belem, an Amazon city of 1.4 million residents that will host this year's UN climate summit COP30 climate summit in November. “If there's too much acai here, people won't be able to eat it all and the price will drop.” A single full crate of acai sells for around USD 50 at local markets in Brazil, a price that is now expected to plummet. The US is by far the largest acai importer of a total Brazilian output currently estimated at about 70,000 tons per year.

Impact already being felt

The most vulnerable acai producers in the northern state of Para say they have already been hit by tariffs imposed by the US government, as a surplus of the berry without a clear destination starts to mount only days after the new economic scenario unfolded.

More powerful exporters, such as Sao Paulo-state based company Acai Tropicalia Mix, are also feeling the impact.

One of its owners, Rogerio de Carvalho, told the AP that last year he exported to the US about 270 tonnes of acai cream — an industrialised version of the berry — ready for consumption. As tariffs started to loom, he said, American importers steered away and clients suspended negotiations. Until the end of July, de Carvalho estimates that his company sold 27 tonnes to the US.

“That's 1.5 million Brazilian reais (USD 280,000) that we lost,” the businessman said. “We are confident there will be a deal between the two countries to allow not only our clients to return, but also getting some new ones.”

Tariffs linked to Bolsonaro case

Trump has linked the higher tariffs on Brazil to the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is now under house arrest for his alleged role in leading an alleged coup plot to remain in office, despite his election loss to current leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

And despite several Brazilian exports being exempted from the tariffs, acai berries aren't among them.

Brazil's industry ministry didn't reply to a request for comment on whether acai berries are among the items that remain on the negotiating table with US trade representatives.

Flavour explosion

Nearly all of the acai consumed in the US originates from Brazil, with the state of Para alone accounting for 90 per cent of the country's total production. Several communities in the Amazon depend on its harvest.

The harvesting of acai is a physically demanding job that requires workers to climb tall trees with minimal safety equipment, and then sliding down branches full of berries to fill baskets and then place them carefully in crates. Analysts say its producers also help protect the rainforest from illegal loggers, miners and cattle ranchers.

The night markets of Belem, such as the Ver-o-Peso acai market, are a hub of activity where the freshly harvested berries are brought in by boat and prepared for sale.

The Brazilian Association of Fruit and Derivative Producers and Exporters estimates there was an explosive growth of acai exports from Para state, from less than one tonne in 1999 to more than 61,000 tons in 2023. Another explosive rise was expected for this year, before the tariffs.

On Thursday, Brazil requested consultations at the World Trade Organisation over tariffs imposed by the Trump administration against the South American nation that went into effect on Wednesday.

That could be took little too late for acai harvester Mikael Silva Trindade, who agrees that the future of the trade is at risk as higher US tariffs can disrupt the delicate balance of supply and demand that holds the industry.

“There will be nowhere to market (the excess of acai),” Trindade told the AP as he picked berries in Para state. “The more you export, the more valuable it becomes. But if there's too much to sell, it will stay here and become cheap.”