However, while the C price and robusta futures are determined by real time transactions of coffee, the price of coffee is also affected by fluctuations in foreign exchange rates. This is because while coffee is sold in US dollars on the C market, coffee is also purchased in other currencies along the supply chain – largely depending on the origin country it was sold in.

Changes in the foreign exchange market (also known as forex, FX, or currencies market) can affect many people across the coffee supply chain. Fluctuations in the market can influence prices paid by roasters and consumers and prices paid to farmers, as well as their production costs. Ultimately, movements in the FX market can have a big impact on economic and social sustainability in the coffee industry.

To better understand how fluctuations in the FX market influence the price of coffee, I spoke to an FX trader, a producer in Brazil, and a UK roaster. Read on for more of their insight.

You may also like our article on how technology can support the future of coffee production.

What is the foreign exchange market? 

The foreign exchange market is a global decentralised market which is used to trade currencies and determine foreign exchange rates for every currency in the world. It is the largest trading market in the world, with daily turnover reaching US $7.5 trillion in April 2022 for over-the-counter (OTC) transactions.

As with many other global financial and trade markets, FX is impacted by a number of macroeconomic factors. These can include inflation, decisions made by central banks, fluctuating interest rates, and changes to political parties – especially elections.

Kelly Oviedo is a Foreign Exchange Trader and Controller at Sucafina. She tells me that the 2022 Colombian presidential elections affected the foreign exchange market – especially because winner Gustavo Petro ran a campaign which pushed for more reliance on renewable energy.

“Colombia is a big exporter of oil, so when Petro was voted in, the global market anticipated that his party would pass policies to reduce oil exports,” she says. “In turn, the Colombian peso weakened on the global financial market.”

Another factor that can influence foreign exchange rates is the price of money, Kelly adds.

“The price of a particular currency is related to the interest rate from that country’s central bank,” she says. “If one country reduces or increases its interest rates relative to another country’s then it will add more pressure onto its own currency conversion.”

As coffee is bought and sold using different currencies across the supply chain, it’s vital that stakeholders understand the value of one currency against another. 

Local currency and the US dollar

A producer is likely to be paid in their local currency, such as the Colombian peso or Ethiopian birr, for example. Traders are likely to sell coffee to exporters in US dollars, while roasters will purchase coffee using their local currency – which can range from the euro to Japanese yen to the British pound. 

Ultimately, understanding the value of each type of currency in respect to one another is an essential part of the trade of coffee.

Similar to how traders hedge coffee prices in the C market, traders can also hedge currency by buying forward contracts using specific currencies. These strategies allow importers, larger producers, and roasters to hedge against exchange rates which significantly change between two currencies. 

When hedging, companies sell a coffee futures contract when they purchase a “physical” coffee contract at the C price. This typically means that if the C price falls, these companies can buy their futures contract and use the profits to offset the price of their “physical” coffee.

Conversely, if the C price rises, these companies end up taking a loss on their futures contract, but can ultimately sell their coffee at a higher price.

How does FX influence coffee prices at origin?

The foreign exchange market affects every stage of the coffee supply chain. However, it affects producers specifically in two main ways: through production costs and changes in domestic coffee prices.

For instance, as chemical fertilisers are manufactured using oil – which is globally traded in US dollars – the price of fertiliser is ultimately linked to the value of the US dollar in some capacity. Fertiliser is an essential agricultural input for many farmers, and often represents one of the largest costs of production when used.

Producers then have to buy fertiliser using their local currency, so the final price can be influenced by the exchange rate between the US dollar and their local currency. 

Let’s use Colombia as an example. When the Colombian peso is weaker against the US dollar, a producer ends up spending more money on the right amount of fertiliser. Alternatively, if the Colombian peso is stronger than the US dollar, the producer needs to pay less money for the same amount.

Another way that the foreign exchange market affects producers costs is by influencing local coffee prices.

“This is more of a direct impact than on the costs of inputs,” Kelly says. “In simple terms, the power of the US dollar compared to a producer’s local currency can affect the buying power of exporters, which can make it easier or harder to compete with local buyers.” 

Arguably, this can have serious consequences for local buyers who generally have less buying power than larger and more established exporters. However, it can benefit local farmers in some cases – a weaker local currency could mean that exporters can afford to pay more money (in local currency) for cherry or parchment, so producers end up receiving higher prices.

Value of local currency against the US dollar

Since exporters usually sell coffee in US dollars, its buying power compared to a local currency can impact how competitive local prices are for cherry or parchment. 

For example, if the Colombian peso is stronger than the US dollar, exporters are more likely to offer prices which are similar to local buyers’ prices. However, if the Colombian peso is weak against the US dollar, exporters can buy more pesos with their dollars, and can then offer more competitive prices than local buyers.

The graph below demonstrates C price variations in the US dollar, Brazilian real, and Colombian peso:

From January 2021 to December 2022, the distance between the green (US dollar) and red (Colombian peso) lines shows how the Colombian peso has steadily weakened against the US dollar. As a result, Colombian farmers have been less affected by lower market prices in 2022. This is because even though their currency weakened, Colombian farmers were receiving a higher local price than Brazilian farmers (whose currency maintained its value relative to the US dollar).

As the Brazilian real and Colombian peso are weaker against the US dollar than other currencies in Latin America, exporters can typically purchase more Brazilian and Colombian coffees for the same amount in US dollars. 

Ricardo dos Santos Bartholo is the owner of Fazenda Cinco Estrelas in Patrocínio, Minas Gerais.

“When the US dollar strengthens, the Brazilian real weakens,” he says. “However, this increases the value of the real for coffee producers, so we are able to be more competitive in the international coffee market.”

How are consuming countries affected?

While cherry and parchment are purchased in local currencies, green coffee is mostly purchased in US dollars. This means that the value of the dollar influences the prices that roasters outside the US pay for their green coffee.

Although US roasters are affected by exchange rates for the US dollar against local currencies where coffee is produced, the price they pay for green coffee isn’t impacted by the value of the US dollar.

However, prices for roasters outside the US are influenced by exchange rates and the FX market. These roasters buy coffees that were initially purchased in US dollars, but they also need to pay in their own local currency – so the price is determined by that currency’s value against the dollar.

Using the example of Canadian dollars, if the exchange rate is 1 US dollar to 1.5 Canadian dollars, a Canadian roaster will need to pay more for their coffee. If coffee is $10 US/kg, a Canadian buyer would be paying $15 CA/kg for the same coffee. 

Conversely, if the US dollar weakens to the point that 1 US dollar equals 1 Canadian dollar, a Canadian roaster will only pay $10 CA/kg, assuming the price of the coffee stays the same in US dollars.

Foreign exchange conversions also influence demand for coffee. Recently, we have seen demand for coffee increase in the US – especially while the US dollar is strong compared to other currencies.

In turn, this means that US roasters pay less for their coffee, which ultimately helps to increase demand.

Balancing risks as a roaster

Although it might seem like roasters have no choice but to simply absorb costs related to currency fluctuation, there are ways that they can mitigate this risk.

Andrew Duncan is the COO of Workshop Coffee in London, UK.

“All of the producing countries we buy from trade and sell coffee in US dollars,” he says. “This means that we need to convert this into our local currency.

“As a result, there are additional fluctuations we need to account for on top of fluctuations in the C price,” he adds.

He explains that Workshop Coffee typically estimates its annual volume of green coffee it needs to purchase, and then buys forward contracts on the FX market at a percentage of its total projected expenditure for that year.

In practice, this means that UK roasters can lock in the current exchange rate between the British pound and US dollar for a certain percentage of their total costs. This means that if the US dollar strengthens against the pound, the roaster won’t spend any more money.

The risks of hedging

However, it’s important to note that hedging isn’t always effective so roasters need to think hard about adopting it as a strategy and exercise caution when doing so.

For example, if the C price increases significantly then the US dollar they did buy would no longer cover the amount of coffee they had planned to buy. Alternatively, if the US dollar weakens, roasters will lose out on potential savings.

“It’s mostly about trying to mitigate as much risk as possible,” Andrew says. “Hedging can be an educated guess, as well as knowing how to de-risk price volatility by buying forward contracts so that we know what our costs will be.”  

In recent years, higher volatility in the FX market have meant that the margins for risk and reward are much higher. For example, Andrew explains that while he previously planned to purchase US dollars to cover around half of his expenditure for a six-month period, he now does so over a much shorter period.

To mitigate risk, Andrew suggests using a currency broker instead of a local bank to exchange currency. 

“If you go to a bank and ask to make a payment to the importer in US dollars, the exchange rate will be worse,” he says. 

Instead, a broker converts your payment into US dollars and then makes the payment to the importer on your behalf. 

“This way, you tend to get a better exchange rate,” he adds. However, roasters still need to be careful when doing so, and make sure to compare exchange rates between banks and brokers before making any decisions.

While foreign exchange may not be as widely discussed in the industry as the C market, it certainly has an impact on the price of coffee across the supply chain – affecting producers, traders, roasters, and consumers alike.

For some producers and many roasters, understanding how the foreign exchange market works and its influence on the price of coffee might inform how they buy and sell their coffee. Ultimately, improving awareness can help both roasters and producers to learn about how FX impacts them – and what they can do to mitigate risk and maximise profits.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on four ways for small and medium-sized coffee roasters to manage price risk.

Perfect Daily Grind

Please note: Sucafina is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!

The post How does foreign exchange affect the price of coffee? appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

At farm level, technology has been used to support coffee production since the mid-20th century. However, since then, there have been further developments as far as automation and equipment are concerned.

Today, we are seeing an increasing focus on using technology to address a number of issues that coffee production faces. These include increasing the climate resilience of coffee plants and improving quality control.

To understand more about how the use of technology could affect coffee production in the future, I spoke with several industry professionals who are developing these technologies and who work with Sucafina, a sustainable farm-to-roaster coffee trader. Read on to find out what they had to say.

You may also like our article on how technology has changed in the coffee industry over the last few years.

How can technology improve traceability?

When talking about sustainability in the coffee industry, transparency and traceability are some of the most widely discussed issues. 

Essentially, these concepts cover access to production-level information – such as the prices paid to producers for their coffee or the specific plot of land that coffee was grown on.

For many years now, technology has been used to improve transparency and traceability in coffee production. One of the most notable examples is blockchain technology, which allows a number of supply chain actors to store data on a decentralised network system. 

Anyone who has access to the network is able to view the information (including farmgate prices, for example), but they cannot amend or remove the data – meaning the data is secure.

Collins Mugabi is the Sustainability Business Analyst Manager for Sucafina. 

“One of the many ways in which technology will change the coffee industry is by improving traceability,” he says. 

He tells me about Sucafina’s new Cropin software, which is helping to make coffee more traceable. When a field officer helps register a farmer on Cropin, information about their farm, including location, types of crops grown, any certification and production history, is entered into the system.

“Every batch of coffee which is sourced and purchased using Cropin can easily be traced back to the individual farm, washing station, or buying centre,” Collins explains. 

Improving farmers’ access to financing can also be achieved through technology like Cropin. The software records transactional data, such as volumes of coffee purchased, price per kilogram, and batch number.

The information is stored to create an automatic record of a farmer’s financial history, which can potentially help them qualify for credit or loans in the future.

Kihara Victor is a Systems Administrator for RWACOF (Sucafina Rwanda).

“When we track this data, we’re better able to provide farmers with pre-season loans based on their projected annual volumes,” Kihara says. 

He adds that farmers can then sell cherry to RWACOF’s washing stations, deposit some of their income into bank accounts, and save money to pay back the pre-season loans over time. 

Streamlining logistics and market analysis

The trade and export of coffee can be fraught with complications – especially when we consider shipping container shortages and rising freight prices.

Tran Dao is the Shared Service Team Leader for Sucafina. She explains how the company is trialling new technology that can accurately track shipments of coffee, as well as making it easier to communicate shipping updates between different supply chain actors. 

“Sucafina is using new smart shipping containers that are integrated with Internet of Things (IoT) technology,” she says. “This is designed to provide real-time data and notifications about the movements and conditions of cargo at any given point in time.

“Using this technology, we can improve the transparency and traceability in our supply chain,” she adds. “We are able to check if there were any abnormal routes or conditions that could affect our coffee, and take appropriate actions to reduce any risk.”

Carolina Guerra is the North America Execution Specialist for Sucafina. She tells me about other technology that Sucafina is using to streamline shipping logistics.

“Cargoo is a new platform that facilitates communication about a specific shipment between all stakeholders,” she says. “The user interface helps to centralise all information about the shipment and reduce the number of emails we send for each shipment. 

“It streamlines the whole process of communication from exporters to customers,” she adds.

As part of the export of coffee, a significant amount of paperwork needs to be completed. This process can be time consuming and labour intensive for many people who work in the coffee industry.

Ilya Byzov is a Quantitative Trader for Sucafina. He tells me how artificial intelligence (AI) technology can help to simplify the process by automatically analysing and storing data from a number of documents.

“If we can automate these systems, we can allocate other tasks to our staff,” he says – ultimately saving more time and money.

Fluctuations and changes across the industry – including in relation to the C price – mean traders generally need to keep up to date with any changes.

Ilya tells me that Sucafina is trialling new analytics software that can assess whether or not any news stories or events will influence the global coffee market.

“This tool would help notify us when a major story breaks, so we can then immediately forecast how it might impact the overall market,” he says.

Quantifying the environmental impact of coffee production

One way that we can focus on securing the future of the coffee industry is by mitigating the environmental impact of growing coffee, which is becoming a growing focus for many consumers.

Several new technologies can be used to track and measure the environmental impact of coffee production. One such example is satellite tracking technology, used to assess deforestation in the coffee supply chain. 

Among the many environmental issues in the coffee sector, there is a significant knowledge gap about deforestation in coffee production. It’s also difficult to track deforestation on the ground as the process of collecting data is slow and often expensive.

As a direct response to this, Sucafina has partnered with satellite tracking companies Trade in Space (TIS) and Global Risk Assessment Services (GRAS) to identify where deforestation is taking place in global coffee supply chains.

To identify levels of deforestation across larger areas of land more accurately, satellite technology can track changes in tree cover over longer periods of time. 

Ana Cabezas is a GIS & Sustainability Project Manager at GRAS.

“Remote sensing technology can monitor areas of land and forests to detect any changes in land use,” she says. “It can reach much larger regions of land – even those that are difficult to access on the ground.” 

Robin Sampson is the CEO of TIS. He explains how satellite technology can be used to provide a more accurate representation of deforestation in coffee production.

“There are many satellites in orbit, so there is more data being produced every day than ever before,” he says. “We can instantly find images of any area of land from open data sources.”

“We found that to some extent, deforestation is occurring in nearly all the coffee supply chains that we assessed,” Ilya tells me.

However, it’s important to note that for the most part, coffee production is not the biggest driver of deforestation. In many cases, population growth (and the resulting increase in food production to meet rising demand) is causing deforestation to take place in coffee-growing regions.

Adapting to climate change

With climate change now a pressing issue for coffee farmers along the Bean Belt, there is a growing need to improve the resilience of coffee plants. Research suggests that up to half of the current suitable land for coffee production in the world’s top coffee-growing countries could reduce in size over the next 30 years. 

Although there are a number of ways to mitigate the effects of climate change on the coffee industry – including carbon insetting schemes – adaptation is also important.

Lab-grown coffee is one of ways that the industry could potentially use to adapt to the effects of climate change. As the name indicates, lab-grown coffee is cultivated in a laboratory rather than on a farm.

Kristine Breminer Isgren is a Q Grader and the quality control manager for Complete Coffee Limited, which is part of the Sucafina group. She explains that there are a number of technologies used to produce lab-grown coffee – some of which involve no coffee production at all.

The first process she describes, the “molecular method”, uses different agricultural products (such as date pits) to mimic the main flavour compounds found in coffee – meaning it contains no actual coffee. 

The second is the “microbial method”, which uses genetically-engineered microbes to produce these flavour compounds.

The third and final, the “cellular method”, however, uses coffee cells that are grown in bioreactors. These cells are then processed into a powder-like substance that can then be brewed similarly to ground coffee.

While there are a number of benefits to lab-grown coffee, Kristine notes that more research to make them commercially viable will certainly be necessary.

“Lab-grown coffees are technically deforestation-free, use less water, and can be carbon neutral,” she says. “However, more evidence is needed to back these claims up. 

“There would also be major repercussions for everyone in the coffee supply chain, especially farmers,” she adds. “Millions of people are reliant on coffee production for their income.”

Improving quality control

A key area of focus in the specialty coffee sector is on improving coffee quality as a way for farmers to receive higher prices in the long term. For many years now, a range of technologies have been used to support this.

Nicolette Yeo is the Head of Marketing for ProfilePrint – an AI-powered food “fingerprint” platform that can be used to determine the cup score, taste profile, moisture content, and density of a given sample of green coffee.

“ProfilePrint allows all users to understand more about the quality of green coffee,” she says. The technology works by matching molecular signatures (levels of chemical compounds such as proteins, amino acids, sugars, and more) in green coffee with specific flavours and aromas found in roasted coffee beans.

As well as simplifying the quality assessment process, technologies like ProfilePrint could provide more objective cup scores for producers, green coffee buyers, and roasters – improving consistency and productivity.

As part of this, The Center collaborated with 45 coffee sensory experts to establish a global calibration model. 

Tim Heinze is the Coffee Education Manager at The Center. 

“Coffee quality is not something that one individual can evaluate,” he explains. “Instead, the entire industry needs to agree on a certain standard.

“Technology like ProfilePrint can make quality control more available to producers who historically have had less access to this information,” he adds. “This technology has the ability to democratise coffee quality control.”

There’s no denying that technology has the ability to help us create more transparent, accessible, and sustainable coffee production in the future. Furthermore, it’s clear that those who don’t keep up will be left behind – with no evidence that technological change across the industry is slowing down any time soon. 

Ultimately, it’s clear to see that technology will continue to shape the future of the coffee industry, but how it will do so remains to be seen. As new technologies emerge, we could see the coffee industry change in a many number of different ways – hopefully for the benefit of farmers around the world.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on addressing deforestation in coffee production.

Perfect Daily Grind

Please note: Sucafina is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!

The post <strong>How can technology support the future of coffee production?</strong> appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

There is a significant knowledge gap about deforestation in coffee production, which naturally leads to a number of misconceptions about when, where, and how much deforestation is driven by coffee production.

Recent data also suggests that deforestation could be more prominent in the coffee sector than previously believed. However, the same data also suggests that coffee production often isn’t the driving force at play. 

So, what are the main causes of deforestation in the coffee industry, and how do we manage them? To learn more, I spoke to several coffee professionals about how to measure and address the topic. Read on to find out what they said.

You may also like our article on carbon-neutral coffee production.

What is deforestation?

In the simplest definition, deforestation is the removal of trees to increase land area for agricultural and commercial purposes. Extensive deforestation creates a number of environmental problems, as trees are habitats for many animal and insect species.  

Forests also prevent soil erosion and act as “carbon sinks”. Through photosynthesis, trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and recycle it into oxygen – helping to mitigate the effects of climate change.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, an estimated 420 million hectares of forest have been lost since 1990. However, the same report notes that rates of deforestation have decreased over the past 30 years.

It has been known for some time that deforestation may occur in coffee-growing regions, particularly in rainforests along the Bean Belt. However, without specific data that indicates where, when, and how deforestation is happening, it’s difficult for industry professionals to take steps to prevent it.

Deforestation can occur on coffee farms to make more room for coffee trees, but it can also happen on public or protected land nearby. It can also vary in severity across a number of factors, including the size of the area of trees that are cut down, the age of trees that are removed, and whether the trees are part of a protected ecosystem, such as a rainforest. 

It can also be difficult to attribute deforestation to a particular individual, group, or farm. Producers who grow many crops other than coffee may not be cutting down trees on their land, but they could be gathering firewood from nearby communal land – meaning it can be difficult to trace back the original source of deforestation.

It’s also important to note that cutting down trees can be a form of sustainable forestry in some cases, which leads to further misconceptions about deforestation. If farmers plant trees and then harvest them for wood, they might have the intention to replant the trees at a later date.

Justin Archer is the Head of Sustainability at Sucafina, a sustainable farm-to-roaster coffee trader.

“There’s no unified definition for deforestation on coffee-growing lands,” he explains. “At Sucafina, we’re currently working on a definition that monitors five different types of deforestation, based on severity, in our supply chain.

“It’s important that we start with a definition that we can build around. We know that our policies will have to be continuously updated as we gather more data and broaden our scope of the issue,” he adds.

Why does it matter?

A new bill proposed by the European Union (EU) would mandate that it must be proven that coffee and other imported commodities are deforestation-free. However, since there is little data on where and when deforestation is occurring, it is difficult for many supply chain actors to predict how this bill will affect them.

Ultimately, this means tracking and measuring deforestation is essential in creating a sustainable supply chain. 

Jay Kling is the Director of Coffee for Irving Farm New York. 

“Our goal as a roaster is to buy coffee that is as economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable as possible,” he says. “We always work towards making the coffee that we buy a fair business for the people who grow it.” 

Is it a problem in the coffee industry?

Ilya Byzov is a Quantitative Trader at Sucafina. He tells me that understanding the severity of deforestation in coffee production is difficult.

“We initially had a naïve view that there wasn’t much deforestation happening in the areas we source coffee from,” he says. “But the more we explored the issue, the more we learned that within the countries where we operate, there is a significant amount of deforestation.”

Justin adds: “Coffee isn’t necessarily the driver behind deforestation, but it’s grown on lands where deforestation is occurring.” 

However, even though deforestation is occurring in these regions, coffee is often not the main cause of this problem. Instead, deforestation actually occurs because of population growth. 

“Trees are being cut down to create more space for humans to live, as well as having more space to build farms to grow food,” Ilya explains.

Research carried out by Sucafina suggests that deforestation is frequent in countries where coffee is grown. Although it’s driven mostly by population growth and rising food demand, deforestation is an important factor that importers and roasters should consider when sourcing sustainable coffee.

Robin Sampson is the CEO of blockchain company Trade in Space. He explains how coffee companies can act to gather data about deforestation. 

“Companies should use this data to assess their supply chains and make sure that they’re comfortable with the places that they’re buying products from, including coffee.”

Despite this being a long-term process, it’s the first step towards mitigating the problem. 

“First, we need to investigate, then we need to address the root cause of deforestation,” Jay explains. “We can use the tools to measure our progress, before we can share the impact of our progress with consumers.”

How can you measure deforestation? 

It is difficult to accurately measure levels of deforestation, especially on the ground. This is because it can happen at a slow rate and often takes place away from coffee farms, meaning it can be anywhere from tough to impossible to obtain accurate data.

To tackle this issue, Sucafina has partnered with other organisations to trial satellite technology that can monitor the extent of deforestation. Satellite technology companies, such as Trade in Space and Global Risk Assessment Services (GRAS), use polygon mapping (a method which can map irregularly-shaped plots of land) and satellite imagery to determine changes in tree cover over time. 

To help with this process, teams on the ground establish GPS coordinates for farms and plots of land. This data is then uploaded to create a geographical mapping system, overlaid with satellite imagery that tracks forest cover. Once data has been collected for several years, it is much easier to assess how forest cover changes over time – allowing deforestation to be more easily tracked.

Ana Cabezas is a GIS & Sustainability Expert at GRAS. 

“Satellite technology has a huge advantage of assessing large regions, even those that are difficult to access on the ground,” she explains. “These systems are capable of monitoring coffee production areas and detecting changes in land use.

“We use current and historical satellite images to identify land-use change, when it’s happening, and what kind of change has occurred,” she adds. 

Prior to the introduction of this technology, the only method of accurately mapping deforestation was to hire a private plane or helicopter to take photographs of the area – a method which is understandably inaccessible for many roasters and other companies interested in their impact on the wider supply chain..

Companies like GRAS and Trade in Space use artificial intelligence to create algorithms that can detect deforestation across large areas of land, without the need for any direct human insight. This low-impact model means that comparatively small companies are able to monitor deforestation on a much broader scale. 

Justin tells me: “Once we partnered with satellite tracking companies, we were able to get a bird’s eye view of deforestation from space. 

“This has given us a different perspective on the pervasiveness and consequences of deforestation in our supply chain,” he says. “Otherwise, we never would have known that there was deforestation happening in our supply chain.”

How can the coffee sector mitigate deforestation?

Justin explains that in order to understand the full scale of deforestation in the coffee industry, data on deforestation must be evaluated across the entire supply chain. 

“It’s important for us to scope out the scale of the problem and understand how, if at all, we can engage with it,” he says. “We currently need to figure out how serious the problem is and who needs to take ownership.” 

Jay tells me that one of the potential solutions is to empower coffee-producing communities by paying higher prices and strengthening direct trade relationships.

“As coffee production becomes more profitable, it will be easier for producers to adopt restorative agricultural practices, develop their communities, and pay pickers more,” he explains.

Working closely with farmers to mitigate deforestation will be a long-term task, Ilya says. 

“If there is active deforestation happening at a farm level, producers are most likely deforesting their land for a specific need,” he explains. “If they are told what they can and can’t do with their own land, it’s a difficult proposition. 

“We have to work collaboratively with farmers to determine why they’re deforesting their land, and what other options or programmes could address their needs instead of deforestation,” he explains.

Ilya adds that reforestation projects could be a solution to addressing these issues.

“We also plan to work with farmers to reforest land with new seedlings,” he concludes.

Ultimately, technology can pave the way for professionals in the coffee industry to track deforestation across their supply chains. 

At the same time, these technologies raise new questions about how we can address deforestation on a local level, and how we can make sure that we do so in a way that supports producers and their communities. 

The solutions won’t be simple but they are pressing, especially with new laws mandating deforestation-free supply chains on the horizon.  

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on growing sustainability in the coffee supply chain.

Photo credits: Sucafina

Perfect Daily Grind

Please note: Sucafina is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!

The post Addressing deforestation in coffee production appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

Managing price risk might seem much more difficult for smaller roasters (who simply don’t have access to the same kind of tools and expertise), but that doesn’t mean they’re unable to do so.

To learn more about how coffee roasters can manage and minimise the impact of price risk, I spoke to some industry experts to learn more.

You might also like our article on how we can bridge the gap in coffee education.

What is price risk? 

Whatever way roasters buy coffee, it is a fact of life that their costs will be affected in some capacity by the C market.

Usually, this is a direct correlation, as many roasters either pay the C market price or a differential (a specific number of cents above or below the C market price).

Kat Nolte Ferguson is a Specialty Managing Trader for Sucafina North America. She says: “By our estimations, 96% of all coffees sold in North America are determined by the C market at some point.”

While some roasters do buy coffee outright – at a fixed price determined between the roaster and the co-operative or producer – the vast majority of coffee is not bought outright, and is therefore tied to the C market.  

Since the C market is driven by global supply and demand, the price of coffee can change significantly. This change can affect roasters in three ways:

• If the C price goes up, roasters may have to pay higher prices for spot coffees (available to ship immediately from the warehouse) and future coffees (contracted for delivery at a later date). Right now, since the market is so high, with little indication that it will fall significantly, most roasters have to pay high prices for coffee. 
• If a roaster “locks in” a price at a specific C market level, they can lose money if the market changes. If the price goes down after a roaster secures a price, they’re left holding a more expensive contract than the current futures price. 
• Finally, if a roaster signs a contract that doesn’t secure a specific market price (with the plan being to secure it later) and the price goes up, then they’re left with a contractual obligation to buy coffee at a higher price than they had expected. 

For all of these scenarios and more, roasters can exercise something known as price risk mitigation. This encompasses a range of tactics that can help coffee roasters soften the impact of price changes.

Price risk mitigation for coffee roasters

For larger roasters, market-based mechanisms like hedging are the most common ways to mitigate price risk. 

When hedging, companies sell a coffee futures contract when they purchase a “physical” coffee contract at the C price. This typically means that if the C price falls, these companies can buy their futures contract and use the profits to offset the price of their “physical” coffee.

Conversely, if the C price rises, these companies end up taking a loss on their futures contract, but can ultimately sell their coffee at a higher price.

However, a single coffee futures contact can be an entire container of coffee (roughly 17,010kg or 37,500lbs). As such, this kind of investment isn’t something that many coffee roasters are able to make.

“Buying and selling futures for small to medium-sized roasters is not really feasible,” Kat explains. “This is because a single futures contract is sometimes their entire annual volume.” 

But it’s important to note that when a roaster buys a contract, they don’t actually pay for the entire volume of coffee upfront – although they are responsible for the full value of the coffee if they go ahead with the contract.

Ultimately, this means that small and medium-sized coffee businesses should be more mindful when hedging, as purchasing one contract without careful consideration could pose a lot of risk.

#1: Know your market

Keeping an eye on the origin markets that are most important to your business can give you advance warning when markets are on the rise. 

Al Liu is the Vice President of Coffee at Colectivo Coffee. He says: “Four years ago, the Sumatra market went crazy. 

“Sumatra is our number-one origin; we basically need to have it all the time,” he adds. “So, when the internal market spiked and I heard that was happening, I snapped up all the spot and nearby FTO (Fair Trade and organic) lots that I could, especially from our producing partners.

“This allowed us to bulk up our inventory before the pricing really skyrocketed.” 

By keeping an eye on movements at origin, Al was able to foresee the price changes that would come for Sumatran coffee in the near future, and get out in front of them.

For cases like those we’re experiencing in 2022 (when coffee prices are on the rise in general), a little advance warning can make a big difference, and enable you to purchase enough stock to “ride out” a price spike. 

“You can find coffees that are good for you and do a lot of good for the farmer,” Kat explains. 

Prices can rise for a variety of reasons, but buying coffee at lower prices doesn’t have to mean lower prices for farmers. 

When prices rise at origin, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the producer is getting more money. Price increases can occur during other stages of export, because of transport or shipping costs.

Ultimately, roasters buying directly from co-operatives can help ensure a higher portion of the sale price goes back to the co-operative and ultimately, the producer. Beyond that, roasters also can share second payment and quality premiums to thank co-operatives and producers for their hard work. 

#2: Maintain good relationships with importers

A good relationship with importers in your region can make a huge difference in knowing when to book, how much to book, and how to hedge costs. 

Importers, especially those with contacts and sister companies at origin, keep their fingers on the market’s pulse so they can access insights that would otherwise be unavailable to roasters. 

“Know your importing partners and work closely with them to understand what might happen in the market,” Kat says. “Understanding specific supply and demand pain points is super helpful.

“If you’re working with a well-informed importer, they may even be able to alert you to incoming supply shortages or surpluses from a specific origin. That could lead to an opportunity to forge a new relationship that’s beneficial for both you and the producers.” 

Another thing that importers can help you with is hedging risk on the C market. As mentioned above, it’s difficult for smaller roasters to hedge prices by purchasing stock in the C market. But importers can aggregate smaller hedges from several customers and build hedging into smaller contracts on behalf of their roaster clients. 

#3: Embrace flexibility

Being flexible about origins and lots, especially for blends, can be another way to offset price changes and keep costs affordable. 

Al acknowledges that it’s easy to get stuck in the mindset that your blend needs to have specific origins and specific proportions.

However, he says: “If you can achieve the same cup profile using coffee that’s from an origin you haven’t used and it costs less, why wouldn’t you do it?”

“As a green buyer, it’s important for us to be flexible and look for new opportunities that already exist that we may not be aware of.”

#4: Link sales contracts to the market

If you have a wholesale business, make sure you can fix wholesale contracts and market prices for the same time period. 

James Dargan is the Head of Asia Pacific Arabica for Sucafina. He says: “If your sales contract is fixed for one year and your purchase for three months, that’s a risk. You should look to match sale and purchase terms as closely as possible.” 

One potential approach is to renegotiate wholesale contract lengths so they are shorter and match the length of time for which you fix prices. Another is to fix contract prices further out to match your wholesale contract lengths. 

“Ultimately, your business and your sales will influence how far out you should fix your purchase side,” James says. 

Another aspect of wholesale contracts to consider is currency. 

If you’re operating outside the US and have wholesale contracts fixed in your local currency, you may want to consider using hedging techniques to offset potential currency changes. 

This is worthwhile as most coffee is traded on the C market in US dollars. This means that currency and foreign exchange rate changes can affect the price you pay for coffee and thus, your overall profit. James notes that if you find this difficult, you can work with banks or importers to help hedge currency risk.

Making sure things stay good for you and good for the farmer

At a time when the C price is volatile, there are several ways for small to medium-sized roasters to mitigate price risk.

Furthermore, with strong supply chains, better prices for roasters don’t have to mean lower prices for farmers. 

“Just because it’s a good deal for you doesn’t mean it’s ripping off the farmer,” Kat explains. 

Coffee can be cheaper for the roaster for a number of reasons, so building positive relationships with suppliers can help you understand just how ethical your coffee is. 

“A coffee can be cheaper because someone on the harvest side hedged a lot or because a bumper crop, such as those we see frequently in Burundi, drove the prices down,” Kat explains.

On the importer side, vertical integration can also reduce costs. For instance, Kat explains that Sucafina has washing stations in Uganda that work directly with farmers.

“This means that we’re able to provide affordable, high-quality naturals that can be substituted for more expensive Ethiopian naturals in blends.”

Another important benefit of vertically-integrated supply chains is the way in which they connect the roaster to the farmer. 

“At Sucafina, we’re working to allow a window from the farmer to the roaster that can enable them to contribute to farmer livelihoods through second payments,” Kat says. 

She adds that the company’s Farmgate Initiative is connecting roasters with specific projects that can significantly affect farmer livelihoods, as well as providing an option to deliver quality premiums directly to producing partners. 

By leveraging these four tips, roasters can minimise their exposure to changes in the C market, and better insulate themselves from price risk as a result.

Ultimately, you will need to remember that the right technique for your business will depend entirely on its size and customers. However, whether it’s embracing flexibility, tweaking wholesale contracts, maintaining good importer relationships, or a combination of these three, it’s worth remembering that managing price risk isn’t something that only larger roasters can do.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on the Chinese coffee supply chain.

Photo credits: Sucafina

Perfect Daily Grind

Please note: Sucafina is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!

The post Four ways for small and medium-sized coffee roasters to manage price risk appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

Over the past 18 months, coffee shops, foodservice businesses, and restaurants alike have been forced to close their doors and stop serving customers through the pandemic. But as they reopen in some parts of the world, it’s clear that the post-pandemic hospitality sector is a different landscape.

So, what can businesses do? How can they adapt to the new situation and change their coffee strategy to win mind share with customers? To answer these questions and more, I spoke with industry experts from UCC UK. Read on to find out what they said.

You might also like our barista guide to a successful shift.

Why is it so important to adapt as the hospitality sector reopens?

The past 18 months have seen a number of key consumer habits shift. Before the pandemic, it was estimated that out-of-home (OOH) coffee businesses made up approximately 25% of total consumer demand for coffee. However, in early 2020, it was estimated that as many as 95% of these businesses closed their doors.

In response, consumers changed their coffee habits in one key way: they started drinking much more coffee at home. For example, recent reports from Nielsen show that the sales of roast and ground coffee in the UK increased by over 22% in 2020 compared to 2019.

But it’s not just the quantity of coffee being consumed at home that has changed – it’s the quality, too.

Frannie Santos-Mawdsley is the Senior Marketing Manager for UCC UK. She says: “Premiumisation within foodservice is a trend we’ve seen for years now, but in coffee it has definitely been expedited through the pandemic. 

“As the coffee shop market has grown, consumers have formed strong opinions on their favourite beverage. With these shops closing, customers have turned focus to [home consumption], hoping to emulate the out-of-home experience in-home.” 

As consumers have spent more than a year and a half drinking more and more coffee at home, it’s understandable to think that these newly-ingrained habits may take some time to shift – especially if public health and safety remains a concern after businesses reopen. 

Phil Smith is the Head of Insight at UCC UK. “There is definitely going to be a long-term impact for the roast & ground sector,” he says. “I think it is going to be a positive one, with consumers switching from the instant category to a ‘real’ coffee category.” 

There will also be no shortage of competition; many businesses have taken this time to reflect, plan, and change their strategy to win more customers when they reopen.

“In 2018, 68% of consumers surveyed agreed the quality of coffee was important to their decision making,” Frannie adds, citing a survey by OMNE and CGA. “That number increased by 15% in November 2020; an impressive 83% are now conscious of quality, showing the importance of maintaining standards when the market reopens.”

Changing your coffee strategy

So, as hospitality and customer-facing businesses around the world start to reopen, coffee shops included, it has become more important than ever to adapt.

Many businesses in the coffee sector have already adapted by capitalising on the uptake in online sales, takeaway and curbside orders, and delivery. However, further differentiation will become necessary to thrive in the post-pandemic marketplace.

But what changes can café owners make?

Change your coffee & focus on consistency

Firstly: look at changing the coffee you offer.

For coffee shops, this could mean replacing and “refreshing” old products you’ve offered for years, or bringing in new additions to your menu. Speak with your roaster or supplier to find out if they have new coffees available.

“Make sure your coffee matches your offering,” Frannie recommends. “Choosing your blends and coffee brands carefully can have a huge psychological impact for your customers and helps define your overall positioning [in the market].”

For cafés, offering a broader range of coffees can help you communicate your expertise and understanding. In contrast, restaurants and foodservice businesses might want more “traditional” flavours to complement or pair with certain menu items.

Consistency is also important. Customers want to know that the coffee they’re drinking will continue to taste just as good every time they try it.

Partnering with a supplier who is known for providing consistent quality will help to differentiate your brand and win market share.

Frannie adds that it’s important to adapt based on your specific positioning in the market.

“If you are a high-end FSR restaurant, you might want premium, high-quality coffee that complements your food,” she says. “In contrast, a chain coffee house may benefit from a bespoke branded white-labelled coffee you can sell over the counter, so your customers can enjoy your signature flavour at home. 

“Finally, companies who want to champion their sustainability agenda may want to consider a coffee like Grand Café with fully compostable packaging and Rainforest Alliance certification.

“At UCC Coffee, we have a unique Total Coffee Solution model, with bespoke and scalable solutions for world-class equipment, smart servicing, exceptional coffee, and a data-driven approach to coffee excellence through our COFFEEWORKS programme.”

Maintain, change, or replace your equipment

No matter how good your coffee is, it won’t matter unless you have the right equipment. Damaged, dirty, or poorly-maintained espresso machines, grinders, and batch brewers can all alter the cup profile of your coffee and stop you from offering the best possible flavours to your customers.

“Following the pandemic, customers’ perception of quality has changed, so ensuring your equipment and training match is vital to ensuring your customers keep coming back,” Frannie says.

Ahead of any major reopening, make sure you check your equipment. You may find that an extended period of time away from the coffee bar has caused it to degrade. 

Espresso machines should be regularly deep cleaned to prevent calcium deposits, overheating, or other malfunctions. Similarly, you should regularly brush or wipe down your grinder (a toothbrush works wonders) to remove any residual oils, as these can cause off-flavours to develop if not addressed.

If your premises have been closed for an extended period, make sure you set aside some time to clean your equipment before you reopen. If it doesn’t seem like something you alone can do, then consider calling the distributor or manufacturer to arrange a technical service.

However, it’s also important to recognise that maintenance and cleaning can only do so much. Eventually, your equipment will unfortunately reach the end of its lifespan – and any extended period of disuse might make this especially noticeable. At this point, it’s time to upgrade.

“When it comes to coffee equipment, there’s a lot to choose from, so you need to find the right machine for your operation,” Frannie says. “[Choose equipment] that’s perfect for your site, your team, their skills, and your long-term coffee ambitions. 

“Buying a machine is a big investment, and there are many variables to consider before purchasing, but getting it right is absolutely critical to defining your positioning.”

Different businesses will naturally have different needs for their equipment, however.

Let’s take espresso machines as an example. For most coffee shops, a traditional or semi-automatic machine will be the right fit to make sure the barista has the perfect amount of control. 

However, for restaurants or other foodservice brands, an automatic or super automatic machine may be more suitable. These types of espresso machine can produce consistent coffee beverages at the touch of the button 

Ultimately, automated machines – and automated equipment more widely – can help coffee businesses grow by simplifying processes, streamlining recipes, and providing a more consistent offering for customers.

Frannie says: “For smaller businesses, there are plenty of highly affordable ‘box-only’ solutions on the market, which UCC’s Collective Members can guide beginners towards. UCC also offers plenty of free videos on cleaning and maintenance.”

She also notes that their Total Coffee Solution model is “fully flexible”, and says that it can be tailored to custom setups for larger coffee businesses.

Consider your design

Differentiating your business in a saturated market after Covid-19 doesn’t start with the coffee you serve or the machine you use to brew it, however. It starts with your brand.

Before customers choose to walk through your doors, you need to win mind share and grab their attention. The best way to do this is by having a clear, refined brand identity and an appealing design.

Taking the time to redesign your space before you reopen can give customers a reason to step inside. Think about the values you want your business to communicate, and see if you can translate that into your coffee shop’s design.

By redesigning your space, you can also make sure continue to be compliant with local Covid-19 regulations. A redesign can help you implement one-way systems for customer foot traffic and easy pick up points for takeaway food and beverages, for example.

Retraining or refreshing staff & baristas

After months away from the coffee bar, you may find that your team benefits from some hands-on time before you reopen to customers.

Scheduling “refresher” training sessions with baristas can make sure that everyone is on the same page as far as beverage preparation and quality control are concerned.

Try and get every staff member in at the same time too, even if only for a few minutes. This will give you the opportunity to explain how things have changed with local Covid-19 regulations – and any key changes they need to be aware of.

For instance, you can show the team how customers should move through the shop, how often specific touchpoints should be disinfected, and point out if you’ve made any key changes to service.

Make sure you listen to your staff, too. Reopening in the midst of a pandemic – no matter how much progress has been made – is likely to be a stressful experience for everyone. By making your new systems clear and allowing them to air their grievances, you can make sure your staff are as prepared as possible.

The Covid-19 pandemic has indelibly changed the way that people brew, serve, and drink coffee around the world. But as we look ahead to a future beyond the novel coronavirus, it’s important that hospitality businesses prepare themselves.

Set your business apart by changing your coffee offering, upgrading or servicing your equipment, considering your brand, and retraining staff where necessary. Preparation is key – and it will help you thrive in a saturated post-pandemic market full of fierce competition.

Enjoyed this? Then try our article on café design.

Photo credits: UCC UK

Please note: UCC UK is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

Perfect Daily Grind

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!

The post Changing your business’ coffee strategy after Covid-19 appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

Over both days, Virtual PRF welcomed more than 1,500 attendees, including over 1,000 producers. Over 800 companies and organisations were represented at the event, and participants came from more than 50 different countries.

On the second day in particular, there was renewed focus on the event’s capacity for networking, as attendees used the Virtual Booths, Tables, and Speed Networking features to continue some of the discussions started by panels and lectures.

To learn more about what happened at Virtual PRF’s second day, read on.

Want to learn more about Virtual PRF? Click here!

The second day of Virtual PRF kicked off with a series of lectures. Food For Farmers‘ Marcela Pino started with her lecture, entitled Crop Diversification: Scaling Impact.

Crop diversification is a key topic for coffee producers; Marcela’s talk looked at how farmers can start growing other cash crops to make themselves more financially stable if there are problems with the year’s harvest.

After this, the event heard from French research centre CIRAD‘s Fred Georget. Fred’s microlecture, Creation of New Varieties of Arabica to Cope With The Impact of Climate Change, examined research from CIRAD and other agricultural research bodies.

It looked at the impact of climate change on coffee producers, and examined how new hybrid varieties of the arabica plant are being cultivated to resist it.

Following Fred’s microlecture, attendees heard from Mercon Coffee Group‘s Jessenia Argüello. Jessenia’s lecture, entitled How LIFT Builds A Better Coffee World, explored Mercon’s LIFT program and how it improves sustainability along the entire coffee supply chain.

After these three lectures, Virtual PRF welcomed the first panel of its second day, featuring speakers from Lutheran World Relief. The Youth and Women in Coffee Growing: The Business Case for Inclusive Coffee Industry panel featured four LWR representatives: Rick Peyser, Ana Ruth Guerra, Dilicia Vasquez, and Roselle Agner.

In this panel, Rick, Ana, Dilicia, and Roselle explored the various challenges for female and young coffee growers in Latin American coffee production, and looked at why greater inclusivity can support sustainability more widely.

The panel was followed by a lecture from Accademia del Caffe Espresso‘s Massimo Battaglia, Understanding Coffee Through Research and Interaction with Origins. Massimo’s lecture argued that hands-on research and interaction at origin is driving greater awareness about and understanding of coffee production in both consuming and producing countries.

The Millennial Coffee Trends panel then followed, featuring The Barn‘s Ralf Rueller, Climpson & Sons‘ Nicole Ferris, and moderator Jordan Montgomery from PRF.

This panel explored trends among one of the most important demographics in the coffee sector: millennials. People aged 23 to 38 make up the largest percentage of the world’s coffee drinkers, understandably making them a key target market for roasters, coffee shops, and producers alike.

Next came the highly-anticipated Market Access: The Middle East panel, featuring Maria Pavani of Tres Marias Coffee, Osamah Alawwam of The Roasting House, Abdulrahman Saeed of Sabcomeed, and Karthikeyan Rajendran of THREE Specialty Coffee.

Maria, Abdulrahman, Osamah, and Karthikeyan spoke at length about opportunities for businesses operating or looking to operate in the Middle East, one of the fastest-growing coffee markets in the world.

The next panel was entitled Profiling The North American Coffee Drinker, and featured Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee, Adam Pesce of Reunion Island Coffee Roasters, and Jennifer Yeatts of Higher Grounds Trading Co.

With an estimate of more than 150 million coffee drinkers on the continent, North America represents a key coffee consuming market. Andi, Adam, and Jennifer spoke about what consumers are increasingly looking for in the US and Canada, and looked at how brands can capitalise on these trends.

This was followed by a lecture from GrainPro‘s Diego Lara: How Storage and Handling Affect the Quality of Green Coffee.

Post-harvest is a critical area for coffee producers; Diego broke down how quality storage and careful handling can combat environmental issues and maximise quality for the end consumer.

After a short coffee break, Virtual PRF returned with a lecture from Simonelli Group‘s Maurizio Giuli, entitled Coffee Waves & The Role of Espresso. This talk focused on the role of espresso throughout coffee’s storied history, from mass commercialisation in the 20th century to the emergence of the chain coffee shop and beyond.

The event then finished up with two final panel discussions. The first was Exotic Coffees & Processing Methods, featuring Dimitri Slukin of Fest Coffee Mission, Ricardo Oteros of Supracafe, and Alex Brooks of Lallemand.

This panel explored how producers are experimenting with processing, and using new and innovative techniques to create flavour profiles that are complex, unfamiliar, and exotic. It also examined how processing can be leveraged not just to improve coffee quality, but also to maintain it.

The last panel of the event was entitled FOB vs Farmgate Price, featuring Sam MacCuaig of Keynote Coffee, Stephen Bannister of Condesa Co Lab, Mayra Orellana Powell of Royal Coffee and Catracha Coffee, and Maritza Midence of Highland Coffee Company.

This prerecorded panel discussion featured four green coffee experts looking to answer a simple question: do higher prices necessarily mean more profit for the producer? It explored how coffee shops and roasters can answer this question, and examined whether or not paying more for coffee makes the supply chain more sustainable.

The event closed with a brief session from organisers Julio Guevara and Henry Wilson, who thanked everyone for attending and reflected on some of the feedback they had received.

With more than 1,500 attendees, higher engagement than ever on day two, and a number of post-panel discussions continuing the conversation after each main session had concluded, Virtual PRF arguably achieved its aim of promoting constructive discussion about the real issues and innovations in the coffee sector.

To learn more about Virtual PRF and future Producer & Roaster Forums, visit the event’s website here.

For more info on Virtual PRF speakers, read our article here.

Perfect Daily Grind

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!

The post Virtual Producer & Roaster Forum: Day 2 recap appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

More than 1,400 people attended the first day of the event, which seeks to promote collaboration, networking, and knowledge sharing across the coffee sector.

Virtual PRF has already driven green coffee sales among stakeholders involved with the event, and aims to serve as a basis for strong future business relationships between a range of different supply chain actors.

Read on for a quick recap of day one at Virtual PRF, detailing the panel discussions and lectures that took place throughout the course of the first day.

Learn more about Virtual PRF here!

After a brief welcome session, Virtual PRF kicked off with an introduction from Francisco Ordoñez, the President of Host Country Sponsor IHCAFE. IHCAFE promotes Honduran coffee on the international stage, supports the country’s agroindustrial supply chain, and drives for greater excellence and quality among producers.

Francisco gave an overview of the Honduran sector in his lecture, providing insight into the origin’s history as a coffee producing country and looking at how Honduran coffee is changing.

Following Francisco’s lecture, Virtual PRF hosted its first panel, entitled China: The Emerging Coffee Market. This featured Natalia Li of Ingenuity Coffee, Lewis Harding of Coffee Exchange, and Brian Clark of Wandering Moose Café and Legacy Coffee.

Natalia, Lewis, and Brian spoke about the various opportunities in the Chinese coffee market, examining the particularities of a consuming market growing by 30% every single year (compared to an international rate of just 2%).

Following the panel, Martin Mayorga of Diamond Sponsor Mayorga Organics gave a lecture entitled Analysing The Supply Chain: Transactional Values. Mayorga Organics works with producers of coffee, cacao, chia, and other artisanal organic products, and was founded with the aim of eliminating systemic poverty in agricultural communities.

In his lecture, Martin gave an overview of how Mayorga Organics came to exist, while also examining and challenging the coffee supply chain more widely.

After Martin’s lecture, Virtual PRF moved onto another panel: Commercial vs Specialty: Understanding Value. This discussion looked to examine what makes specialty coffee special, comparing it to commercial coffee and understanding where the difference in value comes from.

The speakers for this panel were Bram de Hoog (Ally Coffee), Dakota Graff (Onyx Coffee Lab), Zoran Stanojević (Kafeterija), and Emilio Estevez (SOGIMEX). 

Another panel followed, entitled Sustainable Production, Fair Trade, and the Environment: What’s Actually Possible? This featured three panellists from CAFICO, a producer and trader based in Honduras.

Through the course of this discussion, Sergio Romero, Walter Romero, and Teresa Pacheco discussed sustainable and environmentally responsible practices at origin.

They spoke about not just at how they can benefit coffee farmers, but also looked at how practical and plausible these practices they might be for the producer.

This was followed by the Coffee Buyers and the Demand for Certified Products from Honduras panel, featuring four Rainforest Alliance representatives from Europe and Central America. They spoke about the various benefits that certifications have for coffee producers, and looked at how they add credibility and value for the consumer market.

Following these panels, Virtual PRF then hosted a series of lectures.

Reviewing The Costs of Production: A Cost-Benefit Analysis by Karl Wienhold of Cedro Alto Coffee explored how producers can analyse their outgoings and work towards longer-term financial stability.

Why Consider Cold Brew? by Nestlé‘s Matt Swenson looked at why cold brew is becoming more popular, and how it represents an ever-growing market for businesses across the coffee sector.

The Less Is More: Small Scale Production of High Quality Coffee microlecture by CLAC‘s Joao Mattos examined the smallholder farming model in relation to the production of high-scoring specialty coffee, and whether or not it was sustainable for producers.

The Volcafe Way & Sustainability, by Carlos Ortiz of Volcafe, discussed the “Volcafe Way”. This explored the founding principles of the company in a wider context of sustainability in production and export.

The Digitalization of the Coffee Supply Chain; Utilizing Transparency to Eliminate Greenwashing by iFinca‘s Alexander Barrett explored the concept of “greenwashing”, where misleading information is published about a product to make consumers think it is more environmentally responsible than it actually is.

Espresso Americano‘s documentary covered their relationships with stakeholders and actors across the supply chain, focusing on quality and community engagement throughout.

And the final lecture of the day, How Forward Crop Purchases Reshaped The Brazilian Market & Impacted Global Prices, by Mercon Coffee Group‘s Artur Ornelas, explored how forward purchasing changed the Brazilian coffee market and affected the global coffee sector more widely.

At each of these insightful lectures and panel discussions, engagement from attendees was high, with a constant stream of questions and comments on the Airmeet platform.

Virtual PRF’s Head of Communications, Jordan Montgomery, said: “It was great to welcome everyone at the first day of Virtual PRF yesterday.

“We had so many insightful lectures and panels, and the engagement from attendees was really wonderful to see. This kind of dialogue is what will drive the coffee sector forward; I’m really excited to see what the second day brings.”

The second and final day of Virtual PRF starts at 9AM CST. To learn more about Virtual PRF, you can visit the event’s website here.

For more info on Virtual PRF speakers, read our article here.

Perfect Daily Grind

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!

The post Virtual Producer & Roaster Forum: Day 1 recap appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

In response to the growing demand for an industry-leading digital event, these discussions will take place on the cutting-edge virtual Airmeet platform. 

Virtual PRF 2021 aims to set a new standard for online event experiences in the coffee sector, with a focus on collaboration, networking, and driving green coffee sales.

The lectures and panel discussions at the event will cover a range of topics. They will bring industry leaders from around the world to present on real issues and innovations in the coffee sector.

Virtual PRF 2021 will take place on April 5 & 6, 2021. Read on to learn more about the speakers and panel discussions that have been announced.

Learn more about Virtual PRF here.

Virtual PRF 2021 panel discussions

Virtual PRF will feature a range of panel discussions featuring industry leaders from across the sector.

These will discuss challenges and issues that face stakeholders across the industry, as well as identifying new market opportunities and unpacking existing trends.

See below for a list of all panel discussions.

• China: The Emerging Coffee Market: China is the fourth-largest country on earth, and has the highest population in the entire world, but it also has one of the world’s lowest coffee consumption rates; citizens consume, on average, just one cup a year. While this might not sound promising, coffee consumption rates in China are growing at 30% a year, compared to an international rate of 2%. For producers and roasters looking to enter an untapped market, it offers incredible potential. 
  • Featuring: Natalia Li (Ingenuity Coffee) and Lewis Harding (Coffee Exchange).

• Commercial Vs Specialty: Understanding Value: What makes specialty coffee special? We know the quality is much better than commodity-grade beans, but why?
  • Featuring: Bram De Hoog (Ally Coffee), Dakota Graff (Onyx Coffee Lab), Matt McDonald (Cafe Direct), and Zoran Stanojevic (Kafeterija).

• Millennial Coffee Trends: If there’s one thing that millennials around the world have in common, it’s a taste for coffee. This group makes up a major percentage of the world’s coffee drinkers, so it’s a generation worth taking note of if you run a coffee shop or roastery and want to stay ahead of the curve. Tapping into this market is crucial for business success, but it won’t happen without an understanding of the trends that drive their behaviour. 
  • Featuring: Ralf Rueller (The Barn) and Nicole Ferris (Climpson & Sons).

• Market Access: The Middle East: The Middle East’s coffee sector is experiencing tremendous growth. Specialty coffee shop chains thrive here, particularly in Dubai and Saudi Arabia. With over 9,000 branded coffee outlets in 12 countries, the region presents ample opportunity for investors and is a new market for global producers.
  • Featuring: Maria Pavani (Tres Marias Coffee Company), Abdul Saeed (Sabcomeed), Osamah Alawwam (The Roasting House Saudi Arabia), and Karthikeyan Rajendran (THREE Specialty Coffee Roasters).

• Profiling The North American Coffee Drinker: More than 50% of North Americans over the age of 18 years drink coffee every single day. This represents over 150 million daily drinkers. In the US and Canada, coffee consumption is up, “gourmet” coffee consumption is growing, and single-cup home brewing is on the rise. Furthermore, these increases are being led by younger generations.
  • Featuring: Andi Mersch (Philz Coffee), Jennifer Yeatts (Higher Grounds Trading Co.), and Adam Pesce (Reunion Coffee Roasters).

• Exotic Coffees & Processing Methods: Natural, washed, and honey coffees with unique flavour profiles are familiar specialty coffee offerings. But this doesn’t mean producers aren’t also open to experimental processing. In coffee, processing is crucial. More than just drying and the removal of mucilage, each method affects a lot’s flavours and sensory characteristics in a unique way. Control coffee processing and you can maintain – or even increase – quality and consistency.
  • Featuring: Dimitri Slukin (Fest Coffee Mission), Ricardo Oteros (Supracafe), and Alex Brooks (LalCafé).

• FOB Vs Farmgate Price: How much was the farmer who grew your coffee paid?  Finding an answer to this seemingly simple question is challenging. So challenging, in fact, that most coffee shops and specialty coffee roasters don’t know the answer. This is a major concern. When higher prices are being paid, does any of that reach the farmers? Are we supporting sustainable production? 
  • Featuring: Sam MacCuaig (Keynote Coffee) and Stephen Bannister (Condesa Co. Lab)

Virtual PRF 2021 speakers & lectures

Alongside these panel discussions, Virtual PRF will also feature a number of lectures from key industry figures across both days. 

See below for a list of lecture titles and featured speakers.

• Introduction To The Honduran Coffee Sector (Francisco Ordoñez – President, IHCAFE)
• Analysing The Supply Chain: Transactional Values (Martin Mayorga – Founder and CEO, Mayorga Organics)
• Reviewing The Costs Of Production: A Cost-Benefit Analysis (Karl Wienhold – Founder and Director, Cedro Alto)
• Why Consider Cold Brew? (Matt Swenson – Director of Coffee, Nestlé)
• Understanding The Russian Coffee Market (Drago Lakic – Managing Director, Soyuz Coffee)
• How Forward Crop Purchases Reshaped The Brazilian Market & Impacted Global Prices (Artur Ornelas – Commercial Manager, Mercon Coffee Group)
• How LIFT Builds A Better Coffee World (Jessenia Argüello – Sustainable Production Manager, Mercon Specialty)
• Coffee Waves & The Role Of Espresso (Maurizio Giuli – Director of Marketing, Simonelli Group)
• How Storage And Handling Affect the Quality Of Green Coffee (Diego Lara – Division Manager US/Canada & Europe, GrainPro)

Other speakers and featured organisations will include:

• Rick Peyser – Senior Relationship Manager, Coffee & Cocoa, Lutheran World Relief
• Justin Dena – Chief Operating Officer, iFinca 
• Espresso Americano
• CLAC
• Accademia del Caffé Espresso
• Heifer

Attendees will be able to interact with speakers (by asking questions and contributing to polls) during panel discussions and lectures for a more collaborative event experience. 

Beyond this, some speakers will also host virtual booths and tables at the event, meaning there will be further opportunities to ask questions and continue the conversation.

Over the next few weeks, you can keep an eye on the PRF Instagram channel for any further announcements about the event, and upcoming Instagram Live events that will feature PRF speakers.

Virtual PRF will take place on April 5 & 6, 2021. You can buy your tickets here.

For more information about the event, you can visit the PRF website here, as well as the FAQs here (sponsors), here (technical), and here (attendees).

Perfect Daily Grind

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!

The post Virtual Producer & Roaster Forum 2021: Speakers & panels announced appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

However, in response to the demand for a world-class, cutting-edge virtual coffee experience that sets a new standard for digital events in the sector, we are proud to announce the upcoming Virtual Producer & Roaster Forum (Virtual PRF) and the Producer Roaster Matchmaking programme.

Virtual PRF 2021 will take place on April 5 & 6, 2021. Read on to learn more about what’s planned for the event.

Learn more about Virtual PRF here

Virtual PRF: An overview

All around the world, businesses have adapted to a landscape of uncertainty by taking their events online.

While this has changed and evolved quickly over the last 12 months, the PRF team outlined a clear aim for this virtual event from day one: delivering a humanised digital event experience that drives green coffee sales in Honduras.

Virtual PRF will leverage the industry-leading Airmeet platform to deliver an event that is fundamentally centred on networking. The coffee sector is grounded in positive, direct relationships, and that is at the heart of this digital experience.

The PRF team has spent months communicating with stakeholders in Honduras and beyond to develop the agenda for this event. Sponsors, partners, and other key industry organisations have defined the need for a safe and accessible forum that still delivers same coffee sector expertise that characterised previous Producer & Roaster Forums.

In response to these needs, Virtual PRF will offer a customised, all-in-one digital coffee sector event experience that focuses on sharing knowledge and building relationships. It will take place across two days in April, offering dozens of panel discussions, presentations, and virtual booths, as well as a range of networking opportunities.

Karla Calidonio is the Head of Promotion at the Honduran Coffee Institute, IHCAFE, a PRF Diamond Sponsor. She says: “We think Virtual PRF 2021 will facilitate relationships between Honduran producers and international buyers despite the effects that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the coffee sector.

“IHCAFE encourages all actors involved in the coffee supply chain, particularly roasters and coffee buyers, to participate in this event.”

Introducing the platform

Airmeet is an all-in-one digital event platform that supports attendees to build real connections online. Virtual PRF will be the first time Airmeet has been used in the coffee sector.

By using a tailored, customised version of this industry-leading platform, the event will provide attendees with the ability to network virtually in a way that the coffee industry has never previously seen.

Virtual PRF will provide all attendees with the ability to start one-to-one discussions with other stakeholders at the event, and its social lounge and virtual booths will support brands and sponsors to hold the right conversations with the right people.

Martin Mayorga is the Founder and CEO of Mayorga Organics, a PRF Diamond Sponsor. He says: “It’s great to see that the team has developed a custom digital platform that can deliver value for stakeholders across the wider supply chain, with a particular focus on driving green coffee sales in Honduras.”

Virtual PRF will offer four main “areas” for guests to network one-to-one, attend panel discussions, join targeted group discussions, and more. These are:

• The stage. The stage will be where all major presentations, panel discussions, and exhibitions take place throughout the course of Virtual PRF. An exciting range of speakers and panel discussions are planned, which will cover some of the most pressing topics in today’s coffee sector. Guests will be able to tag and “bookmark” future events that they want to attend; they will then be able to register these in their individual calendars, which will send an alert ahead of time.

• The reception. The reception area will be an official welcome area for all attendees. In the reception, both attendees and speakers will be provided with an overview with everything going on at the event. This will include an overview of the stage, sponsor branding, and various other features.

• The arena. The arena is an exhibition area for companies and sponsors from all across the coffee sector. Within the arena, a number of virtual booths will be hosted by stakeholders from all areas of the industry. Attendees will be able to freely drop into these booths to interact directly with representatives of the companies hosting them. Brands can use these virtual booths to hold one-to-one video conversations, product demonstrations, share contact details, and more.

• The social lounge. The social lounge is an area for networking which consists of multiple virtual tables. Guests will be able to join tables themed around certain topics (such as trading & logistics or European market trends) or stages in the supply chain (such as roasting or coffee farming). These tables will consist of up to eight people discussing a certain topic at one time, although many more can watch. 

Beyond this, the event will also have a landing page that showcases key event details (such as the time and description of certain presentations and discussions), a speed networking feature to allow attendees to speak one-to-one for a limited period of time, and simultaneous live translation into either English or Spanish for select presentations and panel discussions.

What Does This Mean For The Coffee Sector?

The aim for Virtual PRF, as with previous physical forums, is to support coffee professionals to build meaningful relationships, share knowledge, and drive coffee sales.

Mark Zhou is the Founder and CEO of MTPak Coffee, a PRF Gold Sponsor. He says: “2020 was a challenging, game-changing year. However, it has taught us the value of strong connections and good, solid business relationships in the coffee sector. 

“We need to incentivise relationship building more widely throughout the coffee supply chain in new ways, by leveraging innovative digital tools and platforms.”

Virtual PRF and the custom platform that has been developed for the event will be a world-first in the coffee industry. The aim is for the platform to drive meaningful interaction between coffee producers, roasters, and other major industry stakeholders.

Digitalisation is already a key topic in the coffee sector. Using this event to bring people together from all around the world, across various steps of the value chain, presents an invaluable opportunity.

However, in addition to Virtual PRF, we are also announcing the launch of Producer Roaster Matchmaking. This separate activity has been planned to meet the principal aim of all past and future PRF events: driving green coffee sales.

Producer Roaster Matchmaking will create an inclusive sales portal for producers for both micro and macro lots. This will meet the needs of farmers of all sizes, while also providing an attractive option for larger roasters and green coffee buyers. Increased financial security will be provided by a minimum order size of half a container.

Roasters who are interested can view the matchmaking website to learn more and contact exporters who are working directly with the PRF team.

Elisa Welchez is the Brand Manager at Café Honduras, a PRF Host and Producer Roaster Matchmaking partner mill. She says: “The matchmaking activity represents a great opportunity for coffee producers in Honduras.

“This past year we were not able to network at the usual fairs, so the platform fills a gap and gives us a chance to present our coffee to potential customers. We are definitely looking forward to experimenting and making the most of this innovative tool provided by the PRF team.”

With Virtual PRF and the Producer Roaster Matchmaking programme, the PRF team aims to leverage an industry-leading digital events platform to realise the future of virtual coffee sector engagement.

Martin says that this is more important than ever. “The wider coffee supply chain [needs to engage] with farmers in a way that is both productive and supportive,” he explains. “I’m very excited that PRF has adapted to the current reality.”

Karla adds: “Our producers proved their ability to respond to the challenges they faced throughout 2020. We have started 2021 with positive expectations, and are excited for what this year will bring.

“Involvement from a range of industry stakeholders will mean attendees can help support the coffee-producing families who have strived to maintain their production despite the challenges of the past 12 months.”

Virtual PRF will take place on April 5 and 6, 2021. For more information, you can visit the PRF website here, as well as the FAQs here (sponsors), here (technical), and here (attendees).

Perfect Daily Grind

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up for our newsletter!

The post Introducing Virtual Producer & Roaster Forum 2021 appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.

Laos, in Southeast Asia, is a landlocked country that borders Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Thailand, and Myanmar. It is also the most heavily bombed country per capita in the world. As a result, almost half of its suitable farmland is unusable. 

Every day in Laos, unexploded ordnance (UXO) is found and cleared. But what role does coffee have to play as the country takes back more and more usable land every single day? Read on to find out.

Lee este artículo en español Cultivo de Café y Municiones Sin Explotar en Laos

The “Secret War” Across The Vietnam Border 

Laos, officially the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, is a long, narrow country home to over 7 million people. Its eastern and southern borders flank the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail, which was a major supply route for North Vietnamese forces during the Vietnam War.

As a result of this, American aircraft carried out more than 580,000 bombing missions over Laos between 1964 and 1973. US forces dropped more than 270 million bombs on Laos to disrupt North Vietnamese supply operations. 

This works out at one bombing run every eight minutes, every single day, for nine full years. Today, estimates suggest that approximately 80 million bombs across Laos never detonated. Many of these split into smaller “bomblets” in mid-air, hit the ground without detonating and remained untouched while plants and trees grew around them.

These bombing missions were largely organised by the CIA. They did not become public knowledge until 1969, and have since been referred to as a “secret war”.

Today, the Laotian economy is highly dependent on its land, particularly for mining and agriculture, including coffee farming. Unexploded ordnance presents a huge barrier to both sectors. It continues to be a massive humanitarian and socioeconomic challenge that contributes to a chronic lack of food and land security.

You might also like Why Specialty Coffee Shops Are Succeeding in Laos

Laotian Coffee: An Overview

Laos has been a coffee-producing country since French colonists established plantations there in the early 1900s. Production slowed after the French left, and then again during the Vietnam War. However, after the war, many smallholder farmers moved back into old colonial coffee plantations.

In the 45 years that followed, Laos’ coffee industry began to thrive. It started exporting to major consuming countries, including Germany and the US. Today, it is the third-largest coffee producer in southeast Asia, after Vietnam and Indonesia. 

Khamsai Inthavong is an agriculture value chain advisor in Laos. He tells me that coffee supports more than 50,000 families across the country. According to him, 95% of all coffee in Laos grows on the mountainous Bolaven Plateau, in the south.

However, he adds: “Coffee farmers in Laos have one of the world’s most dangerous jobs.”

Coffee is grown at high altitudes, making areas like the Bolaven Plateau ideal for producers. However, these mountainous regions make up much of the Laotian border. North Vietnamese forces routinely crossed this border as part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

How Does UXO Affect Coffee Farming?

During the Vietnam War, more than two million cluster bombs fell on areas along the Laotian border.

Unsurprisingly, this virtually destroyed the Laotian coffee industry. And while it has since recovered, decades on, unexploded ordnance limits safe access to much of this rich agricultural land.

The chief of Dak Cheung, a village found in the Sekong province in southeastern Laos, says: “It is hard for us to expand our coffee production. Bomb removal agencies have to clear the land. However, we are too far from the main villages. They don’t come out here to clear.”

Michael Wood is the founder of fi-lan’thro-pe. His organisation works with coffee farmers in Laos and Vietnam). He adds: “For many poor coffee farmers in Laos, there is no choice but to risk their lives cultivating on [affected] land.

“Unexploded ordnance can restrict the expansion of coffee communities [who would normally use] agricultural land to grow, diversify and expand crops. It can prevent safe access to roads, gathering firewood, [access] sources of safe drinking water, and even travel to the market and medical centres.”

The Impact Of Unexploded Ordnance On Rural Farming Communities

Unexploded ordnance in Laos affects 25% of villages in 15 of the country’s 18 provinces. More than 300 lives are lost every year. In total, it is estimated that 12,000 people have been killed or injured by UXO since 1973.

Bernard Franck of USAID has worked with UXO and landmine survivors in Laos, Cambodia, Angola, and Sri Lanka for 30 years. He notes that the impact of a UXO accident can be especially devastating in rural areas. 

“Those in remote communities still don’t receive physical rehabilitation, assistive products, and the psychosocial support they need to overcome the trauma of the UXO accident,” Bernard explains.

He adds that victims of a UXO accident suffer “long-term chronic pain and psychological trauma including anxiety, stress, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder”.

The impacts of UXO on women are particularly prominent. While men and boys are the majority of victims in Laos, women and girls who are directly injured by UXOs are more likely to face discrimination, isolation, and stigmatisation as a result of their disabilities.

Furthermore, Bernard explains that women also suffer from the indirect impact of UXO accidents. “In the case of extreme injury of male family members, women and girls will carry the additional burden of caring for the family and face further threats of UXO as they take on the majority of the responsibility for agricultural labour,” he says.

“Widowed women are particularly at risk for unequal access to coffee land, land rights, and control over economic and agricultural resources.”

Clearing The Bombs: A Painstaking Process 

For many, the obvious solution for any problem relating to unexploded ordnance is to clear the bombs. However, it is not that simple.

The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) is a UK charity that tracks and destroys landmines, cluster munitions, and unexploded bombs across the world. They have been working in Laos since 1994.  

UXO clearance is a methodical yet painfully slow process, and it bears a huge risk to those who undertake it. Manual “de-mining” involves checking minefields metre by metre, using metal detectors and a variety of excavation tools. Every day, some 3,000 people survey and clear UXO across the country, at an estimated cost of US $3,000 per hectare.

Sarah Goring is a Programme Officer for MAG in Laos. She says: “Clearance is further hampered during the wet season and by difficult terrain and dense forest.

“The task of de-mining the entire country will take considerable time and, though [they are] decreasing in number, injuries and deaths continue to occur.”

The Laotian government has stated that it seeks to clear all UXO from priority agricultural land by the end of 2020. However, as yet, only about 25% of affected people have benefited from land sweeps and bomb clearance. 

Furthermore, there have been other unforeseen issues. In July 2018, for instance, a hydropower dam burst in the coffee-growing region of Attapeu in southern Laos, near the Cambodian border. This sent 5 billion cubic metres of water rushing through the region. 

This unearthed an unknown number of unexploded explosives and redistributed them across previously cleared areas. There is no certainty about where the mines went, effectively “resetting” progress on clearance efforts throughout much of the region.

Growing Specialty Coffee In New Areas

In the 1950s, most of the coffee on the Bolaven Plateau was replaced with robusta and Catimor arabica, prioritising yield and plant resilience over crop quality. However, since 2014, the Laotian government has promoted the widespread planting of higher-value arabica varieties to meet the global demand for specialty coffee.

Production has expanded to the mountainous regions of the country’s central and northern provinces, and some forested areas have been cleared for coffee cultivation. However, these fertile areas are also where some of the heaviest bombing took place.

In these areas, many of the coffee farms are very remote, making proper UXO clearance difficult. With no other choice, some Laotian farmers try it themselves. 

When an accident happens, Michael says that the “impassable roads” and “[lack of] telephone contact” make it “tragically difficult for UXO casualties to get medical support”.

“The main communities at risk are the new coffee growers,” he explains. “Many of the older farms have been cleared by UXO teams, but it’s the most impoverished in the least developed areas who suffer the greatest risk of UXO-related loss of life.” 

Fortunately, while many of these farmers face all manner of challenges, several ongoing development initiatives support the expansion of the country’s coffee sector to improve farmer livelihoods.

Looking To The Future 

UXO clearance in Laos continues to be supported and funded by numerous international organisations in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the EU, Norway, South Korea, and the US. 

In 2016, President Obama visited Laos. He was the first US president to do so. On his visit, he publicly recognised and apologised to the people of Laos for the “secret war” and subsequent UXO that caused so much grief and destruction. He pledged US $90 million in aid to Laos for UXO clearance and further support. 

Sarah says: “Once charities like MAG have cleared the land of unexploded bombs, communities can live and farm free from fear. They are free to build livelihoods that can sustain their families and help lift them out of poverty.”

For many coffee farmers in Laos, the hope is that they can finally shake off the impact of a war that finished 45 years ago and no longer be defined by the explosives that still litter the country’s landscape.

So, while all these UXO-clearing initiatives continue, what can consumers do? Well, by discussing this topic and buying fairly-priced, sustainable coffee from Laotian regions that have been cleared of UXO, we acknowledge and engage with this issue. At the same time, we also support the farmers who now grow coffee on safe, clear land. 

Enjoyed this? Then read How Producers In Laos Are Turning To Specialty Coffee

Photo credits: Vientiane, Sean Sutton, Nicole Motteux, Bernard Franck

Written with input from Lilani Goonesena.

Perfect Daily Grind

Want to read more articles like this? Sign up to our newsletter!

The post Coffee & Unexploded Ordnance In Laos appeared first on Perfect Daily Grind.