Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, AGEXPORT’s Specialty Coffees Committee was not only able to successfully complete the 2019-2020 coffee harvest season but is also take advantage of new opportunities on international markets that opened due to the lockdown restrictions worldwide and promote Guatemalan coffees through the platform for Guatemalan coffees called Coffee Trade.
Prior to the pandemic, our exports of roasted coffee were not relevant, but we never lost hope of boosting these exports through our platform Coffee Trade. With this platform, we were able to promote Guatemalan coffee with high added value and due to the lockdown restrictions in Central America, the United States and Canada, the demand for Guatemalan roasted and packed coffee increased significantly to as much as 76.2% during the first five months of 2020. Total exports for this product add up to US$659,553 during this period; said Mr. Guillermo Rodríguez, president of AGEXPORT’s Specialty Coffees Committee.
Mr. Rodríguez stated that roasted and packaged coffee companies were able to export more than US$1 million through AGEXPORT’s Connecting Best Markets platform in 2019. For this committee, these opportunities to display their products on international markets have also been an opportunity to promote Guatemala’s country brand and to be able to sell their products at higher prices. It also promotes transformation on these companies and modify coffee farms to adapt to different channels such as e-commerce.
