Promoting and celebrating coffee as a drink, with events in different places around the world, is the custom of celebrating International Coffee Day every October 1 since it was founded in 2015 by the International Coffee Organization and first launched. Milan, Italy. However, Ecuador is no exception, the national coffee sector has several unresolved issues, according to Pablo Pinargote, general director of the National Coffee Association of Ecuador (Anecafe), who analyzes the needs, challenges and expectations of coffee producers.

After being born as an idea in 2021, the restart of the Ecuadorian coffee cluster is planned for October 2022, after being delayed due to a strike in July of that year. What kind of initiative was that?

This initiative did not progress. It did not materialize in terms of the maturation of what was wanted to be done, I think there were only a few meetings, many members of the chain were invited, from producers, roasters, industrialists, exporters and traders, but nothing happened from there. The team made more progress.

Although our coffee sector is one of those with the greatest development potential due to the opportunities we have in this country’s microclimate and soil to produce the best coffee in the world, we have had very little support from the last governments in 20 years. and even worse than the ministers of agriculture on duty. The little that has been done to motivate producers and the image of the country is through our private Golden Cup competition, in which we encourage producers to produce quality coffees in order to get better prices.

With the clustering initiative, was it possible to verify sectoral figures, such as hectares of crops and annual production?

There are no real official data on the number of hectares of production, on the quantities, although it is true that the Ministry of Agriculture has some figures, we do not agree with that, because they are very different from ours, we consider it the private sector, like Anecafé, that Ecuador does not produce more of 25,000 hectares, which is equivalent to almost 200,000 bags.

With production stagnant, but a cluster that needs to be restarted, Ecuadorian coffee longs for better days

Is that production enough?

No, Ecuador is a country with a high deficit because the internal consumption is over 300,000 bags, that is what is eaten in Ecuadorian canteens, what is sold in supermarkets, we are in deficit with 100,000 bags and beyond that all that is needed for the Ecuadorian industry as could add value and export to the world, but unfortunately everything has to be imported from other sources.

Do you think that this initiative will continue in the next Government?

What we hope as a private sector is that the new Government considers the coffee sector as one of the main products or sectors that generate sources of rural employment that this country so badly needs and, in general, significant amounts of foreign currency to be able to This is what we believe that this sector coffee can do and the only thing we need is to turn our eyes to the countryside and mainly to our sector, given its importance, supported mainly by loans at interest rates of at least one digit and with a grace period based on the coffee cycle, which is a minimum of three years.

How does the production of specialty coffee continue in Ecuador?

We are very proud to believe that we have contributed to one of the important things that have been developed in Ecuador, which is specialty coffee, thanks to our Golden Cup competitions that have been held for 17 years, which is 100% from the private sector and has no support or initiatives from the public sector . Taza Dorada, more than anything, was an incentive for coffee producers and growers to create specialty coffee, giving added value to their coffee, because unfortunately they cannot increase production quantities or productivity, but they can improve quality.

How is the 2023 Golden Cup competition going?

We have both qualities, first robusta which is in its eighth edition, we produce it in the Amazon because there are mostly the best quantities of robusta coffee in Ecuador; and Arabica coffee that turns 17 will be produced in the United States thanks to the efforts of the private sector, the first phase in Ecuador (from October 11 to 14) and the second phase in the United States (from November 8 to 10 November 11 will hold is a physical auction and award ceremony so that we can take Ecuadorian coffee to one of the most important consumer showcases so that international customers can try, taste and every day position Ecuadorian coffee in the world, that our passion and our contribution as a private sector to the cultivation of coffee in Ecuador.

What are the expectations of the coffee sector by the end of 2023?

This was a difficult year, for many years we have recorded a dizzying drop in exports, mainly of coffee beans, this year we also have a decrease in coffee bean exports of close to 50% until the first half of the year because it also moved a lot of coffee production, the little that exists, but in a way there was an increase in the export of what is Ecuadorian industry based on their effort, their work, their dedication; In a way, the Ecuadorian industry is returning to those levels of productivity and competitiveness to be able to compete with other developed countries in coffee.