Peru returns to the International Coffee Organization

Already has made official the re-entry of Peru to the International Coffee Organization (ICO), a forum that brings together leading grain producing nations in the world. It is the ninth largest exporter of the grain. After more than 20 years, the return has great significance for the country therefore represents the potential to boost the sector’s competitiveness, as the major platform for discussion and cooperation that constitute this organization.

The ambassador of Peru in England, Claudio de la Puente, welcomed Peru as a new member of the world organization in the framework of the World Coffee Conference and the 116th Session of the Council of the International Coffee Organization, held in the city of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), as announced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MINAGRI).

“The decision to return to this important organization goes hand in hand with the exciting development that has experienced the coffee sector in Peru in recent years, and its relationship so close to the life and economy of hundreds of thousands of Peruvians” said the diplomat.

Ambassador de la Puente said in his speech that our country has become the tenth largest producer and exporter of coffee ninth. Coffee growing is developed in the eastern and western slopes of the Andes over an area of ​​approximately 425 thousand hectares throughout 17 regions.

“The Peruvian coffee is grown in a wide variety of climates, soils, rainfall and sunlight for planting, thus contributing to the harvest of coffee of very high quality,” the official said when addressing the characteristics of the main product of agrarian agricultural exports .

“There are almost 225,000 families live in this culture – many of them small farmers – and about 2 million Peruvians who are part of the value chain of this product. Today it has become one of the main products for the substitution of illicit crops – coca, for example – facilitating the incorporation of thousands of farmers to the formal, legal economy in the context of alternative development projects ” he said.

The ambassador highlighted the high quality of Peruvian coffee has obtained important international awards as prizes awarded to farmers and coffee cooperatives in events organized by Rainforest Alliance as the Specialty Coffee Association of America, among others.

“This represents a great stimulus for the development of our agriculture and hundreds of thousands of families living on coffee, with a positive effect on the efforts of producer organizations investing resources to implement laboratory quality control to ensure and maintain a standard of coffee with typical Peruvian grain and special characteristics, “he said.

Also the Peruvian representative highlighted the government’s actions through MINAGRI to promote the development of coffee cultivation, as the “National Plan Coffee Plantation Renewal”, which aims to renovate 80,000 hectares, with a program of funding and technical assistance for producers.

“The 2013 a comprehensive National Plan against Roya and other support measures such as buying coffee debts whose crops were affected by pests was implemented. The government promotes the production of high quality coffee through various initiatives, including the National Competition Specialty Coffee, and other international events and fairs as Expocafé Peru, “said the ambassador.

In this regard, he said that a return to the OIC, after more than 20 years, has great significance for Peru so the possibilities it represents for boosting the competitiveness of the coffee sector in Peru, as the major platform discussion and cooperation that constitute this Organization.

“I reiterate why our commitment to participate actively and constructively with both the producer and consumer members and with government authorities and the private sector to contribute to development and orderly market and growing prosperity of the coffee sector as a whole” he concluded.

Source: MINAGRI Peru