BOGOTA – Between January 2013 and the second week of October the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation´s (FNC) specialty coffee exports surpassed 1 million coffee bags.
According to the FNC policy, Specialty coffees are considered as such when consumers identify and appreciate particular traits that differentiate it from other coffees, and as a result, are willing to pay higher prices that in turn are transferred to growers.
This national record is the result of the FNC´s value added and differentiation strategy which transfers higher quality premiums to specialty coffee producers and allows them to escalate in the value chain.
Luis G. Muñoz, CEO of the FNC, presented the achievement during the opening ceremony of ExpoEspeciales 2013.
Besides being Latin America´s largest specialty coffee fair, ExpoEspeciales brings together national and international representatives of the coffee productive, industrial and commercial chains to discuss and learn from Café de Colombia´s quality and sustainability.
By selling more than 1.2 million specialty coffee bags in international markets to be shipped by the end of 2013, the FNC expects to beat 2011´s record of 1.03 million bags. Similarly, by 2014 the FNC intends to double the 670 thousand specialty coffee bags exported in year 2006.
Since value added coffees require adapting the supply and meeting the demands of sophisticated clients and customers, their production entails great efforts.
The higher volumes in sales have been the result of the accompaniment provided by the FNC to thousands of producers who, by adopting stringent production practices and protocols, have been able to produce higher quality coffee.
Thanks to the FNC´s Extension Service the number of producers who grow coffee under sustainability protocols has increased from 68,624 in 2008 to 162,873 in September 2013. This means that 29% of Colombia´s coffee growers meet sustainability standards.
Additionally, the area grown with coffees that follow verification or certification sustainability standards reached 422,390 hectares in September 2013. This represents a 16% increase compared to the 365,528 hectares of 2012.
Since the Value Added Strategy was launched, the premiums paid for the commercialization of specialty coffees have reached a total of 149 million dollars.
Source: FNC
