Colombian Coffee Industry Halted Due to Domestic Situation

Professional coffee knowledge exchange | For more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style)

Colombia's Domestic Situation and Coffee Industry Impact

Colombia's domestic situation remains turbulent, with protests against the government's tax reforms continuing to unfold.

According to a Reuters report on May 6, 2021, confirmed by the head of Colombia's National Federation of Coffee Growers: anti-government protests in Colombia had continued for 8 days as of May 5, and road blockages caused by protesters setting up roadblocks across the country were ongoing, severely disrupting the transportation of coffee—the country's largest agricultural export.

The protests, ongoing for over a week, have resulted in at least 24 deaths. Initially opposing tax reforms proposed by Colombian President Ivan Duque to stabilize national finances, demonstrators expanded their demands after Duque withdrew the proposal: they called for government action to address poverty, police violence, and inequalities in healthcare and education systems.

The logistics disruption across Colombia stems partly from truck drivers spontaneously striking in support of the protests, and partly from protesters setting up roadblocks nationwide, disrupting road transport. This situation has intensified throughout Colombia.

One of the major blockades was established in Buenaventura, Colombia, a Pacific-adjacent city with Colombia's largest port, where goods are unable to enter or exit.

Colombia is synonymous with Colombian coffee—the country is the world's third-largest coffee producer with over 500,000 coffee-growing households. As protests spread nationwide, many commercial activities have been forced to halt, and Colombia's coffee industry has been significantly affected.

"Our work has been completely stopped, exports have been halted, all transportation is interrupted, and goods cannot reach ports or other domestic locations," said Roberto Velez, head of Colombia's National Federation of Coffee Growers, in a phone interview. "We cannot quantify the coffee that cannot be exported—exports were cut off four or five days ago." He added, "This transportation disruption greatly affects the coffee harvest seasons in Huila, Valle del Cauca, Cauca, and Nariño regions."

Storage space has not yet reached capacity, but will become full if protests continue, Roberto Velez added.

Roberto Velez hopes that protesters and the government can work to resolve their differences while avoiding disruption to the national economy.

Reuters also noted that coffee growers enjoying high prices of $1.48 per pound in the New York market have not yet participated in the protests. However, given the current volatile and evolving situation, there is no clear end in sight for the protests, and a nationwide strike appears imminent.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, ID: kaixinguoguo0925

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473