BOGOTA, Colombia – Under the context of the 82nd National Congress of Coffee Growers, Cecilia Álvarez -Colombian Minister of Commerce Industry and Tourism (MinComerce)- and María C. Lacouture -President of ProColombia- encouraged Colombian coffee growers to take advantage of the export infrastructure and programs created to foment innovation and access to new markets.
The FNC and ProColombia have been working hand in hand to support Colombian coffee exporters. Together, they have trained 3,800 growers on export matters. Nevertheless, merely 25 companies have actually taken up the challenge to export.
As Lacouture noted, “The potential is huge; however, the first necessary step in order to export coffee is having the will to do so. We need the support of Committees in convincing coffee growing companies to export.”
Another important opportunity to keep in mind is the Innpulsa initiative: a financial support program that targets innovative enterprises. Cecilia Álvarez noted, “The deadline to apply is December 17th. Coffee growers are welcome to apply. Innpulsa provides tools on innovation and access to new markets.”
Roberto Vélez, CEO of the FNC, discussed the FNC’s goal of improving profitability by fomenting the production of complementary products. He noted that the support of ProColombia in this venture would be very helpful, since the idea is to establish an entire chain of production, commercialization and export.
Mr. Vélez also noted that promotion efforts from MinComerce would contribute significantly to the Regional Denominations of Origin and 100-100.
Hotel facing the National Coffee Park
2015 is closing as the best year the National Coffee Park has ever experienced, with more than 900,000 visitors. With an investment of $6.24 million, a high-end hotel facing the National Coffee Park will be constructed in order to further boost tourism in the region.
Funding for the project will be provided by the National Coffee Park and by various companies from the coffee sector. MinComerce is among the institutions that have expressed interest in contributing to the project thus far.
In addition to the hotel, funding will go toward the construction of new attractions in the park.
