RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – On November 27th, last Sunday, the 28th edition of the National Coffee Meeting (ENCAFÉ), a traditional event organized by the Brazilian Coffee Industry Association (ABIC), and sponsored by SEBRAE, was concluded.
After two years without the event, it returned in great style and with a record number of participants, more than 420, all members of various sectors of the coffee production chain.
ENCAFÉ: a moment of transformation
In his opening speech on the 23rd of november, Pavel Cardoso, President of ABIC, declared that the event was an enriching moment, where everyone worked to increase the segment’s possibilities in this new scenario that presents itself in the country and in the world.
The following four days showed the strength of such statement, and names like Ricardo Amorim, Roberto Amorim, David Fiss, Walter Longo and Leandro Karnal took the stage in the main auditorium of the Hotel to talk not only about coffee, but also about transversal subjects that can collaborate with the segment such as quality, innovation, sustainability, retail and communication.
During the meeting, the possibilities that the current political and economic scenario can bring to coffee production were presented, as well as the importance of Brazilian agriculture for the world, a sector that, according to Roberto Rodrigues, is the only one capable of supplying the world in a sustainable way.
Giuliana Bastos, researcher from the São Paulo Coffee Hub, took to the Grand Hyatt convention center the survey “Identifying the profile of the coffee consumer who seeks quality”, which brought the view of 5,460 coffee lovers about the product, with more than 180,000 answers, the largest ever performed about coffee consumption in Brazil.
The data showed that roasted and ground coffee is the most consumed, followed by freshly ground, and the aroma quality was identified as the most important when buying coffee. To keep up with this trend, Camila Arcanjo, Coordinator of the Coffee Preparation Center of Sindicafé-SP, informed that ABIC is updating its evaluation methods to better communicate this attribute to consumers.
Pedro Henrique Netto, Market Intelligence Analyst from Apex Brasil, export agency, talked about the services in the company’s catalog, to help industrialists to take their products abroad. With the Knowledge Arena, the participants had access to exclusive contents in a more didactic way, with a two-part course by CARMOMAQ, a panorama about the capsules market, with a focus on sustainability.
Winners of the 19th ABIC National Coffee Quality Competition were awarded
The ceremony was the moment to award the winners of the 19th ABIC National Coffee Quality Contest – Origins of Brazil – Crop 2022. Before starting the celebration, Celírio Inácio, ABIC’s Executive Director, emphasized that the consumer has the right to have good coffee on their table and celebrated the fact that ABIC’s work and effort are nationally recognized.
Leandro Karnal and announcements for the 29th ENCAFÉ closed the event
To close the 28th edition of ENCAFÉ, professor and historian Leandro Karnal went on stage and talked to the audience about mankind’s capacity for adaptation, and also debated about the changes and consequences of the post-pandemic world. Karnal explained that human beings are in constant change and that it is not possible for any kind of professional to stay fixed in one place.
Senator Marcos Rogério (PL-RO) also spoke, and showed himself willing to fight on behalf of the sector in the Federal Senate and affirmed to all the industrialists present that they can count on his support. Pavel Cardoso closed the ceremony, thrilled with the return of the event: “We brought a lot of information and relevant content to the sector, which is quite satisfactory.
I leave with the feeling that we can give even more value to the national coffee, responsible for 40% of the world production”. For the next edition, it was announced that it will be held at the recently opened Vila Galé Alagoas resort, located at Praia do Carro Quebrado, Barra de Santo Antônio – in the state of Alagoas.
