São Paulo – Brazil, the main coffee producer and exporter in the world, aims to stand out not just in quantity, but also in quality. This is the plan of the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA), which, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, plans to promote a series of activities for trade promotion abroad this year.
The main one is the Annual Exhibition of the Special Coffee Association of America (SCAA), the main international fair in the sector, which should take place from April 28th to May 1st, in Houston, Texas, in the United States. Each year, the fair pays special attention to a country, the "portrait country", according to the organisation, and in this edition it is Brazil’s turn.
"This means we have the lights turned on us," said the executive director at BSCA, Vanúsia Nogueira. According to her, Brazil will be the topic at the opening of the event – not just in coffee, but as a whole -, the welcoming cocktail should be Brazil themed and there should be "privileged space" in all symposiums promoted during the fair.
Apart from that, Brazil should have the right to the largest stand at the fair, with 130 square metres, where there will be a coffee shop for sampling of the coffee of each producer. According to the general planning and strategy coordinator at the Coffee Department of the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Cláudia Marinelli, the states to be represented include Minas Gerais, Bahia, São Paulo, Paraná and, "probably", Espírito Santo.
"It will be an environment favourable for regions, associations and producers to make contact and even to do business," said Cláudia. The stand, however, will be institutional, and there will be no separate spaces for organisations, producers or companies. The last time that Brazil was the theme of the show was in 2000.
According to Vanúsia, exhibition and contacts are the high points of the fair, as it takes place in the period between crops in Brazil, making the closing of deals during the fair itself more difficult. The idea, after the fair, is to promote a trip by a group of importers to the country between June and August, then with visits and the closing of deals.
Clients, in this case, according to Vanúsia, should be coffee shops and small roasters that process high quality coffee. Thus, as these establishments roast and grind the product on their own accord, green coffee will be promoted.
Despite being a basic product, this does not mean that it is not value-added. In a scale from 50 to 100, to be considered special, coffee must be classified above 80. "It is what is called a ‘soft drink’, which may be consumed without the need for adding sugar," said Vanúsia. That is, the grain must produce an ideal beverage regarding bitterness and acidity. And to obtain such a result, it is necessary to produce in a different manner, therefore adding value.
Apart from the exhibition in Houston, producers of specialty coffees plan to participate in at least two other fairs in the sector this year, one in Europe, in June, and another in Japan, in September. Due to the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the Northern coast of the Asian country this year, presence in the event in Japan will be confirmed in future.
According to Vanúsia, participation in a fair in South Korea, in an event in Australia and in a delegation to accompany president Dilma Rousseff to China are also under evaluation.
He informed that Brazil exported around one million bags of specialty coffees last year, growth of around 15% in comparison with the previous year.
The work for promotion is important to reposition the product on the market as, according to the executive, for a long time, Brazil privileged quantity as against quality, losing space to other producers in the high-end sector. "We show that Brazil has quality and quantity in production of coffee," he pointed out.
*Translated by Mark Ament
