BRASILIA, Brazil – Representatives of coffee production in Brazil and Colombia met on June 14 at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Brazil), in Brasilia, to seal an alliance to find solutions to the persistent coffee price crisis.
After 10 months of the last meeting between the leaders last August, coffee prices continue below production costs, aggravating the impoverishment of the coffee regions around the planet and making the future supply of coffee to consumers uncertain.
The response of the rest of the value chain, despite multiple attempts at dialogue by the countries and the World Coffee Producer Forum (WCPF), has been unsatisfactory.
In today’s meeting, the leaderships of Colombia and Brazil consolidated an alliance for the development of actions on several fronts, such as bringing producers closer to final consumers and increasing value at origin, so that the wealth generated throughout the chain is better distributed, guaranteeing the economic sustainability of producers and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
They will also insist on the importance of market transparency and that the coffee futures contract reflect the realities of the market without the interference of external factors that affect prices and increase uncertainty.
The two countries consider it essential to promote that the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and the US government regulate the participation of non-commercial actors in coffee futures contracts, as well as other measures to increase transparency in price formation and efficiency in risk coverage tools.
Similarly, they analyzed the viability and impact of management of coffee stocks at origin.
Reaffirming the commitment to balanced supply and demand, Brazil and Colombia, acting with the WCPF, will actively promote the implementation of a global project to increase consumption in producing countries, as well as joint scientific work to develop alternative uses for coffee.
The details of the actions discussed today will be presented at the II World Coffee Producers Forum, on July 10 and 11, 2019, in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
FNC – Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia
CNC – Conselho Nacional do Café – Brazil
Minasul – Cooperativa dos Cafeicultores da Zona de Varginha
CNA – Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuaria do Brasil
BSCA – Brazilian Specialty Coffees Association
ASSUL – Associação dos Sindicatos dos Productores Rurais do Sul de Minas
Sistema OCB-ES
SRB – Sociedade Rural Brasileira
Frente Parlamentar do Café
