Market crisis on top of agenda at World Coffee Conference

For the last five years the producer coffee market has been in a price crisis. New producing countries have appeared and production in general has increased, upsetting the supply-demand balance. To discuss the problem, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture and the International Coffee Organization will sponsor a World Coffee Conference between the 23 and 25 of September, in Salvador, state of Bahia, northeastern Brazil.

Minister of Agriculture Roberto Rodrigues says it is fitting for Brazil to host the conference because its coffee industry employs 8 million people. “Our proposal is to harmonize the productive chain and consumption around the world. …We want a sustainable situation,” he declared.

Humberto Santa Cruz, president of a coffee grower association, points out that Brazil produces a lot of coffee through cutting edge farming methods. “We are the number one producer and the second biggest consumer of coffee. We want all our coffee growers to be able to compete on international markets,” he said.