Your favorite Brazilian Coffee beans will probably cost you a good bit more this season.

Brazilian authorities have estimated a 15-20 per cent drop in its coffee output for the crop year 2009-10, which begins in April. According to the estimate, the production is likely to be 36,897,000 bags against 45,992,000 bags in 2008-09.

“As expected, this level of production, which corresponds to that for the low production year in the biennial cycle, is likely to be between 15 and 20 per cent below the 2008-09 level,” ICO (International Coffee Organization) sources said.

World consumption has been growing steadily since 2000 at an average annual rate above 2.5 per cent. “If this rate of growth continues world consumption could exceed 132 million bags in 2009 and 134 million bags in 2010,” they said.