Aug 11 (Reuters) - Farmers and local media reported the occurrence of light frosts in coffee producing areas in Brazil in the early hours of Sunday as an unusually strong cold mass for this time of the year advances from the South to central areas in the country.
Farmers posted videos on social media of light frosts in the Cerrado Mineiro region, the second most important producing region of top Brazilian coffee grower Minas Gerais. There were no reports of frosts in the main coffee area of South Minas.
According to a report by agricultural news outlet Noticias Agricolas, farmers in municipalities such as Patrocinio and Tapira in the Cerrado Mineiro region said part of their crops were hit by light frosts.
They said in the report, however, that it was much less intense than in the last major frost that hit the area in 2021.
Frosts can reduce agricultural yields in coffee crops as they cause leaves to fall, reducing trees' vitality.
They are more frequent in July in Brazil. The last major frost to hit coffee areas in Brazil in mid August happened in 1978, according to data from local forecasters.
Brazil's official forecaster CPTEC said last week that there was possibility of frosts in some states during the weekend.
It also sees potential for more frosts in the early hours of Aug. 13, but mostly in the three Southern states, plus Sao Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul.
Frosts can also have a negative impact in sugarcane fields if they are strong. Sao Paulo is Brazil's largest sugarcane producing state. (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira in New York; Editing by Josie Kao)
