Just two weeks after having passed the norms for the importation of Peruvian green coffee, the Brazilian government has decided to suspend the same norms until the agency of food safety of Peru presents its security plan to the Department of Plant Protection (DSV) of Brazil.
The about-face came after farmers and politicians from Brazilian coffee-growing states warned that crop pests from Peru could enter Brazil and questioned why the world’s top coffee producer and exporter would need to import beans.
According to the National Coffee Council (CNCA) of Brazil, a new regulation in the neighbouring country requires that the plan be approved before granting authorization for imports.
The resolution, signed by the director of DSV, Luis Pacifici declares “the suspension of imports of green coffee beans from Peru to the presentation, on the part of the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) of the country, the work plan for the approval of the Plant Protection Department.”
According to the document, the phytosanitary requirements in Brazil have modified and now include the need for the DSV approve the work plan to allow imports.
The CNC explained that this work plan should contain information on production, present pests, and treatments used, as well as risk mitigation measures to prevent pest shipping in international trade in the product.
Coffee roasters in Brazil had welcomed the potential import of high-quality Peruvian beans into the world’s No. 2 coffee-consuming country, where consumers are developing more sophisticated tastes.
