Açai berry producers are concerned as Trump imposes tariffs on Brazil's
exports
[August 09, 2025] By
ALAN K. GUIMARAES and MAURICIO SAVARESE
BELEM, Brazil (AP) — When U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs of
50% 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 U.N. 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 $50 at local markets in
Brazil, a price that is now expected to plummet. The U.S. 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 U.S. 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, Rogério de Carvalho, told the AP that last year he
exported to the U.S. about 270 tons of acai cream — an industrialized
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 tons to the U.S.
“That's 1.5 million Brazilian reais ($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 Inácio Lula da Silva.
And despite several Brazilian exports being exempted from the tariffs,
acai berries aren't among them.
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Kenedy Leao carries baskets of acai berries for sale at the Ver-o-Peso
riverside market in Belem, Brazil, Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. (AP
Photo/Paulo Santos)
 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 U.S. trade
representatives.
Flavor explosion
Nearly all of the acai consumed in the U.S. originates from Brazil,
with the state of Para alone accounting for 90% 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 ton 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
Organization 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 U.S. 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.”
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Mauricio Savarese reported from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
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