BOGOTA, Colombia – The second business specialty coffees roundtable organized by the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) and Procolombia during ExpoEspeciales Café de Colombia 2015 created business expectations worth $7.2 million.
“We are very pleased to see the dynamism that existed during these roundtables. As a result, this second version greatly exceeded our expectations, which further translates into more long-term relationships and greater security both for buyers and coffee growers,” said Roberto Vélez, Colombian Coffee Growers Federation’s General Manager.
Buyers from Australia, Azerbaiyan, Canada, China, South Korea, the United States, Finland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom were able to familiarize themselves with the specialty coffees offered by exporters from departments as diverse as Antioquia, Caldas, Cundinamarca, Huila, Magdalena, Nariño, Quindío, Risaralda, Santander, Tolima y Valle del Cauca.
“During this second roundtable, 86 Colombian specialty coffee exporters introduced their offer to buyers from nine countries. On this occasion, 90% of the foreign buyers brought by ProColombia came for the first time to do businesses with producers from 12 departments,” added ProColombia’s president, María Claudia Lacouture.
The interest from mature markets (United States and Canada) and emerging markets (China and South Korea) covered a wide range of Colombian regions, which confirmed the scope of the global industry, as described by experts, who highlighted the dynamism of the origins and differentiated preparations in mature markets and the accelerated growth of consumption in emerging markets.
Since the end of 2013, the FNC and ProColombia (then ProExport) combined efforts to train coffee growers on export-related issues and to facilitate business networking opportunities between potential buyers and exporters.
