* Brazil forecast to consume 5 pct more coffee in 2011
* To be No. 1 consumer if growth continues at this rate
* New York coffee futures surge on high volume (Adds quote, details, byline)
By Peter Murphy
BRASILIA, Jan 26 (Reuters) - With rapidly growing consumption, top coffee producer Brazil could overtake the United States as the world's biggest drinker of the beverage in 2012, Brazil's coffee industry said Wednesday.
Consumption has been rising an average of more than 4 percent since 2003, helped by rapid economic growth that has boosted spending power and increased consumption of more sophisticated coffee drinks outside of the home.
Brazil's coffee industry association, ABIC, expects local sales to rise 5 percent to around 20.3 million 60-kg bags in 2011. If Brazil repeats that in 2012, it is likely to consume more bags than the United States, the biggest coffee drinker.
"The number of cups consumed per day is more. People are not just drinking coffee at breakfast but also espresso, lattes and cappuccinos in bars and restaurants, contributing to the increase," said Nathan Herskowicz, ABIC's executive director.
The International Coffee Organization said the U.S. consumed 21.4 million bags of coffee in 2009, having grown 14 percent since 2000. Brazil's consumption, on the other hand rose, 39 percent over the same period, ICO data showed.
Rising Brazilian consumption will put added pressure on already-tight global supplies, especially as consumers seek out better qualities and the government seeks to stop the poorest quality coffees reaching the shop shelves.
Arabica coffee prices KCc1 soared some 77 percent in 2010 with increased participation of investment funds and perceived tightness of supplies. They are continuing to hover higher and jumped 3.9 percent at one point on Wednesday to $2.40 per lb.
Brazil will begin harvesting its next coffee crop in late April or May. It is expected to produce 41.9 million to 44.7 million 60-kg bags, according to the government, down from last year's 48.1 million bags due to the biennial high-low cycle.
RECORD CUPS PER CAPITA
Brazilian coffee consumption has been growing faster than the global average, which Herskowicz said had been around 1.5 to 2 percent per year.
Per capita consumption rose 3.4 percent in the last year, to 4.8 kg per inhabitant, compared with 4.65 kg in 2009, still a far cry from the average 13 kilos each inhabitant of Finland, Norway and Denmark consume on average, ABIC said.
But ABIC said that was the highest individual consumption recorded since 1965, when Brazilians drank 4.72 kilos on average.
The government is set to introduce rules for quality standards from Feb. 17 for coffee consumed in Brazil, taking into account humidity and presence of impurities. Specialized tasters, known as cuppers, are also being trained to score produce on aroma, aftertaste and acidity. Coffees must score 4 out of 10 to be marketable.
The biggest roaster of coffee for the local market is Sara Lee (SLE.N), which Brazil's meat producer JBS (JBSS3.SA) is bidding to buy. See: [ID:nN26268749]. It has a market share in the region of 20 percent of total roasted coffee sales in Brazil.
ABIC President Alimir Jose da Silva said in a statement that the local coffee industry was fragmented with many small and medium size companies, some of which were struggling to turn a profit.
He said he expected this would "accelerate the process of consolidation and concentration in the sector."
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