Veracruz coffee producers call for a halt to ‘fraudulent’ coffee imports

Coffee producers successful the authorities of Veracruz are demanding a halt to imports they accidental are hurting accumulation and pushing down prices.

Coffee farmers from the Coatepec portion of the Gulf Coast authorities demonstrated successful beforehand of the Governor’s Palace successful the superior of Xalapa connected Monday, alleging export fraud and denouncing a deficiency of enactment from authorities and national authorities.

The Veracruz growers are besides aiming their protestation astatine what they see unfair contention from little prime and much cheaply priced overseas imports. (Plumas Libres)

Fernando Celis, advisor to the National Coordinator of Coffee Growers Organizations, said that portion Mexico is exporting much java than successful caller years, it is not exporting java of home origin. 

As such, protesters were demanding that the authorities halt java imports from Brazil, Vietnam, Uganda and Indonesia, which, they say, are being labeled arsenic Mexican java to debar U.S. and European import tariffs.

“This is simply a fraud perpetrated by trading companies and validated by the Economy Ministry,” Celis said. 

National java accumulation during the 2024-2025 harvest was 3.9 cardinal sacks and nationalist depletion is 3.15 cardinal sacks, according to the Veracruz-based integer paper e-consulta.com. However, 3 cardinal sacks of java were exported, contempt a surplus of conscionable 750,000 sacks.

“The influx of overseas java beans is displacing home production, causing a driblet successful prices,” Celis said, explaining that robusta java produced overseas is cheaper.

In the past month, Celis said, the terms of a quintal (100 kilos) of java fell from US $400 to US $350, representing losses for home producers of betwixt US $7 and US$10 per quintal.

Producers demanded that the authorities instrumentality protective measures for Mexican java and warrant just prices that let coffee-growing communities to beryllium sustainable.

In summation to unit from imports that straight harm section producers, protesters besides complained astir fund cuts and organization neglect that has near the assemblage vulnerable.

In September, the authorities dissolved the National Institute for Rural Sector Training and Development and, successful mid-2023, the National Development Finance Corporation,nwhich oversaw backing for cultivation producers, was closed down. In 2020, the authorities of austerity instituted by the Andrés Manuel López Obrador medication resulted successful the elimination of 1 of the 2 undersecretariats successful the Agriculture Ministry.  

In September, Veracruz producers criticized different authorities programme that seeks to beforehand instant coffee, saying it offered below-market prices. 

With reports from La Jornada and e-consulta.com