LONDON – The Opening Ceremony of the 50th anniversary meetings of the International Coffee Organization took place on Monday 9 September 2013 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The event was opened by H.E. Antonio Augusto Anastasia, Governor of Minas Gerais.
Keynote speeches were made by the ICO’s Executive Director, Robério Oliveira Silva; H.E. Antonio Andrade, Minister of Agriculture, Brazil; H.E. Fernando Pimentel, Minister of Commerce and Foreign Trade, Brazil; and H.E. Eduardo Santos, Acting Minister of External Affairs, Brazil.
Belo Horizonte Declaration
The Council adopted the Belo Horizonte Declaration which has been issued to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the ICO.
Third Consultative Forum
The 3rd ICO Consultative Forum on Coffee Sector Finance took place on 10 September 2013. The objective of the event was to identify best practices and disseminate information to Members about farmer aggregation as a platform through which access to finance and risk management could be achieved more effectively. 22 experts in farmer aggregation from different geographical and coffee-growing regions participated in the event.
Market report
The ICO Head of Operations made a presentation on the market report to the International Coffee Council during its 111th Session.
Membership of the ICA 2007
The Council reviewed the status of the 2007 Agreement which entered into force on 2 February 2011. As at 9 September 2013, 45 Governments are Members and a further 5 Governments are in the process of completing membership procedures. The Council approved a Resolution extending the deadline for deposit of instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession until 30 September 2014.
Coffee and climate toolbox
The Council received a presentation on an initiative for coffee and climate.
Studies:
The Council considered the following studies: World Coffee Outlook: 2020 and on Coffee in China.
Cooperation with Brazil
The Director of the ABC, Mr Fernando José Marroni de Abreu, reported on Brazilian technical cooperation and the Council approved a concept note from Cameroon developed in consultation with the ABC.
Studies on risk and financing in the coffee sector aimed at three different audiences
Coffee producers, coffee trading enterprises and policy-makers are being prepared by the World Bank in collaboration with the ICO.
ICO Members reviewed progress on the studies which will identify risks and constraints at different stages of the value chain; determine their impact on the availability and cost of finance; and propose potential remedial measures that could mitigate these risks.
Promotion
Members received a report on plans for Expo 2015 and a Coffee Cluster and reviewed progress on implementing the plan for promotion of consumption and market development, which includes the development of a multi-stakeholder network.
Projects
The International Coffee Council approved the following new projects for submission to the Common Fund for Commodities and other donors.
- International research and development services for durable genetic control of the coffee leaf rust disease in Arabica coffee – This new €1.9m proposal will assist producing countries in combating coffee leaf rust, a major disease which affects Arabica coffee worldwide, causing economic damage estimated at between US$1.5 – 2 billion.
- Best practice management of coffee berry borer (CBB) and coffee leaf rust (CLR) to improve Panama’s capacity to export specialty coffees – this new US$40,000 proposal will enable experts to carry out a survey of the situation of the pest/disease in the country, and develop a framework for the proposal in the field.
World Coffee Day
The Council agreed to establish an annual World Coffee Day. The date of the World Coffee Day will be considered in March 2014.
World Coffee Conference
The Council invited countries interested in hosting the 4th World Coffee Conference to send proposals by 31 December 2013, for consideration at its next session in March 2014.
