MEXICO CITY, Mexico – At the 17th Summit of the Tuxtla Mechanism and on behalf of the Government of Mexico, the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader), VÃctor Villalobos, proposed the creation of a body that would participate in and influence the process of setting the international price of coffee, given that currently its quality and characteristics are not being fairly compensated in the world markets.
Secretary Villalobos explained the reasoning behind the proposal to the leaders, foreign ministers and delegations of the 10 member countries, saying that the Mesoamerican nations are major producers of quality coffee that is consumed worldwide, but at a low cost that does not correspond to the work done by the coffee producers, who are mostly small-scale coffee farmers.
During the plenary session of the 17th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Tuxtla Mechanism for Dialogue and Coordination, Secretary Villalobos said that, given the production problems in the region, joint defensive methods to achieve fairer and more competitive prices are needed.
Mexico will present a plan at the next meeting of the Central American Agricultural Council (CAC)—to be held in Mexico on September 5-6—to demonstrate with indicators and other information that the quality of the region’s coffee is not being fairly priced, which affects the social and economic development of the Mesoamerican nations.
On behalf of President López Obrador, Secretary Villalobos stressed that “in a complex international context, it is our responsibility to strengthen the region in order to promote sustainable development, create opportunities for our more than 233 million citizens and foster an authentic integration that connects us in our shared geography, history and culture, in addition to our challenges and opportunities.”
Mexico also called for international cooperation based on shared responsibility to address the causes and effects of migration with a Comprehensive Development Plan.
The plan is a joint effort that will create sustainable development and opportunities for the region, and make migration an option, not a necessity.
The Mexican delegation had participated previously in the inaugural ceremony of the Summit, where Secretary Villalobos reaffirmed that Mexico was committed to continue cooperating with all of the Mesoamerican countries and their societies to achieve the goals of the Tuxtla Mechanism.
He listed some of the achievements of the Mesoamerica Project, such as road infrastructure, with the financial support of the Yucatan Fund, and the installation of the Mesoamerican Comprehensive Risk Management Network.
Regarding food security, he mentioned implementation of the Mesoamerica Without Hunger initiative and the Virtual Center for Forest Monitoring.
After announcing that Mexico would host the 2021 Summit, Secretary Villalobos said the group had to redouble its efforts to fulfill the promise of a better future, and to continue driving Mesoamerican prosperity by reducing the developmental lag and strengthening regional capacities.
