Chiapas, Mexico - Rodolfo Trampe, Executive Coordinator of the Mexican Association of Coffee Production Chain, announced that Mexico was the 6th largest coffee producer in the world in 2011, just after Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Mexico is also one of the largest producers of certified organic coffee.

Coffee arrived to Mexico in 1790 and it was adopted immediately. Currently the major producing states are Chiapas, Veracruz, Oaxaca, and Puebla. These states produce 90 percent of Mexico’s coffee; but it also grown in Guerrero, San Luis Potosi and Hidalgo.

Mexico's main coffee producing area is the state of Chiapas. Consequently, this is also Mexico's poorest state. There are over 400,000 farmers of which 90 percent are small tracts of land with less than 12 acres and 30 percent of them are women. Most of the small farmers were moved off the most fertile land, in favor of the large coffee plantations owned by foreign investors.

Coffee Consumption

Mexico’s per person average coffee consumption is just under three pounds per year Rodolfo Trampe said, a low figure compared to Guatemala’s and Columbia’s consumption of 5.5 pounds per person, and Brazil’s and Finland’s per person consumption of 12+ pounds and 26.5 pounds, respectively. Even though Mexico’s coffee consumption is small, it has doubled since 2000.

Coffee Export

Rodolfo Trampe said that production this year would be between 4.2 and 4.4 million - 132.3 pound sacks bags of green coffee.

In terms of export Mexico is in eleventh place with 2.8 million bags exported; a figure representing around $900 million. Mexican coffee farmers are the number one suppliers of coffee to the United States.

Coffee is the second largest traded commodity in the world, only behind petroleum.

Climate Change

According to Amecafe (Asociación Mexicana de la Cadena Productiva del Café), a major growers’ organization, global climate change is expected to have an adverse long-term effect on prices and on the sustainability of coffee-farming in Mexico.

In an effort to raise yields of coffee to at least 19 bushels per acre within 3 years and to 32 bushels per acre eventually, Mexico’s Agriculture Secretariat has announced financing of $16 million for a program to gradually replace aging coffee groves in 12 states.

Source: Mazatlan Messenger