São Paulo – Now nobody can hold back the coffee products made in Dois Córregos, a city located 260 kilometres away from the city of São Paulo. After receiving Fair Trade certification, from FLO-CERT, an independent organisation headquartered in Germany, members of the Association of Coffee Producers of Dois Córregos have already sold the product to the United States. And they plan to reach other countries, like the Arab market.
Fair Trade is certification that guarantees that the 14 coffee farmers at the Association follow a series of criteria for production. "The points include correct use of pesticides, environmental care like the projection of springs and guarantee of workers’ rights according to legislation," said the association president, Sandro Gregolin.
With Fair Trade in hand, exports started in August this year, to the North American market. "We know that samples of our coffee have already also reached Germany, Japan and Sweden," said Gregolin. The producer explained that the idea is to win new buyers in coming years, including the Arabs. "We are greatly interested, but have not yet got contracts in these nations," he said.
According to Gregolin, apart from production of the best quality grain, the obtaining of certification helped entrepreneurs in the region to make more. "Last year, the price of each bag was 250 Brazilian reals (US$ 147,00)", he said. "Now, we get paid 470 reals (US$ 276)," he said. Today, members of the association produce, on average, 4,000 bags of processed coffee each year.
The manager of the Sebrae SP office in Bauru and Botucatu, Milton Debiasi, explained that the animation of coffee farmers makes sense. "In general, financial gain by producers is over 30%," he said. And that is because apart from learning how to plant with greater efficiency, coffee farmers from Dois Córregos are now more concerned with crop administration. "They received training in costs, finances and management," he said.
According to Debiasi, apart from Dois Córregos, producers from Pratânia, in the interior of São Paulo, 240 kilometres away from the state capital, also got Fair Trade certification. "Later, coffee farmers from both cities could join forces to export together, with gain of scale," he recommended, confident on good coffee business there.
*Translated by Mark Ament