A coffee grower from Tolima sold her coffee at 10 times the international market price. Astrid Medina, Colombian coffee grower from the municipality of Planadas in the department of Tolima, won first place in the 2015 Cup of Excellence competition organized by the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) and The Alliance for Coffee Excellence.
With a score of 90.2, Ms. Medina was able to sell her coffee at $14.50, which is10 times the international market price– in Cup of Excellence’s online auction.
The 31 Colombian producers who received more than 85 points in the competition were eligible to participate in the auction. Together, they sold their coffee at an average of $5.65 per pound and will receive more than $461.00.
Gilberto Rojas, coffee grower from the department of Huila, won second place in Cup of Excellence 2015 and received the second highest auction price at $10 per pound. Japanese, South Korean and Australian buyers purchased Mr. Rojas’ coffee.
Luis G. Muñoz, CEO of the FNC, was pleased with the auction’s outcome. “We are glad to witness how coffee growers from an increasing number of coffee growing regions participate year after year in quality competitions and access higher prices.
Our priorities will continue to be differentiating Colombian coffee, providing value added and positioning the uniqueness of Colombia’s coffee.”
It’s worth noting that four out of the auction’s 31 participants were women. Together, they sold their coffee at an average of $7.11 per pound. This reaffirms the commitment of Colombian coffee growing women to producing high quality coffee.
