The Perfect Sack of Coffee Can Cost up to Twenty Times more than Standard Kinds

07/03/2018 - 11h25

Gabriel Antônio Madeira, 62, a small rural farmer, produces coffee in Nova Resende (Minas Gerais). During his last harvest, he was surprised by the batch of special coffees he managed to collect. Instead of selling a sack for R$ 460 (US$ 118), Mr. Madeira sold each one for R$ 2,750 (US$ 703). Each sack contains 60 kilos of coffee.

More and more producers are trying to arrive at the perfect coffee, where acidity, sweetness and body have all reached the ideal levels and can, therefore, please the taste buds of foreign consumers more.

Among such successful producers is Sebastião Afonso da Silva, 56, from Cristina (Minas Gerais). He won the same contest two years in a row with a selected sack of coffee that was sold for R$ 9.384 (US$ 2400).

Mr. Silva, who produces up to 3,500 sacks of coffee in the four properties he owns in the mountains of Minas Gerais, has managed to perfect his production by paying close attention to requirements such as proper fertilization, laboratory soil analysis and post-harvest care.

The higher the altitude of the crops, the greater the chances of producing high-quality coffee.

	Foto Ricardo Benichio/folhapress
	Each sack contains 60 kilos of coffee

According to the Brazilian Association of Special Coffees (BSCA), production went up by approximately 15% over the last couple of years, reaching 8.5 million sacks in 2017. The association estimates that 7.7 million will be exported, especially to countries such as the United States, Japan and to Europe.

The National Supply Company (Conab) is projecting that 58 million sacks will be harvested in 2018.

Cooxupé, the largest cooperative in the country, established a company in 2009 with the sole purpose of selling fine coffees that are certified.

By 2017, 400 of the 13 thousand members of the cooperative were already selling high-quality batches of coffee. Cooxupé plans on selling 100 thousand sacks in 2018.

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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