Belo Horizonte – With competitions and B2B meetings, the International Coffee Week (SIC) began this Wednesday (7) and is promoting the coffee industry in Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, the state with the largest production in Brazil. On the first day, the SIC held the first rounds of the four barista world championships, held in Brazil for the first time by the World Coffee Events (WCE).
Among the competitors are baristas from the United Arab Emirates. Competing in the World Brewers Cup is Ibrahim Hamza Al Mallouhi; in World Cup Tasters is Andrés Salinas; and Cris John Benavente is competing in World Latte Art.
Until Friday (09), the event will welcome producers, buyers and experts from across the world. The Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (CECAFÉ), for instance, has set up a stand with its main sustainability projects on display, and it has already promoted its initiatives, such as the partnership with the National Pact for the Eradication of Slave Labour (INPACTO), which works for the eradication of inhuman work in Brazil’s many economic fields. Another partner is the Neumann Foundation, which promotes sustainable development via the empowerment of producers and their families.
The partnerships reveal the efforts by the Council to show buyers the sustainable potential of Brazil’s coffee production chain. “The event is a great opportunity for CECAFÉ to reinforce the partnerships with the foreign trade, research and education institutions, public and private companies, NGOs, associations, importers, roasters and consumers, a key factor to strengthen the resilience of the local coffee and continue to be the world power in the sector,” said Nelson Carvalhares, CECAFÉ’s president.
There are other activities taking place simultaneously to the main event, such as B2B meetings, courses and lectures with top experts in the field. In all, the International Coffee Week 2018 will have 25 simultaneous events, plus 160 exhibitors, 400 samples competing for coffee of the year, 300 international buyers and 140 baristas from 60 countries.
“The interest [of the public] boosts the relevance of the event, which includes the participation of all the links of the sector, from the coffee farmer and the industry to the end consumer. And also the importance of the state, which will see a 30% increase in coffee output this year and will produce over 53% of the 58 million bags of the national production,” said the president of the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of Minas Gerais (FAEMG), Roberto Simões, during the event’s opening at Expominas.
*The reporter was invited to attend the event by its organizers
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
