Arabica, robusta, expresso, freeze-dried, short or long: coffee is a a product greatly acclaimed by advertising and its commercial brands are well known to all. What is lesser known is that it represents the 6th largest volume of raw material exchanged in the world and that the lives of 25 million coffee producers in Latin America Africa and Asia depend on its cultivation.

WELCOME TO PERU, TO THE "FINCAS" OF FAIRTRADE COFFEE.

Like most Latin American countries, Peru is a coffee country. Long time considered a producer of mediocre coffee, over the last 10 years the country of the Incas has risen in ranks to become the 6th greatest global coffee exporter, notably thanks to considerable efforts to improve quality. This improvement coincided with the opening up of new international markets, such as the market for organic, fairtrade and gourmet coffees. The situation of Peruvian cafetaleros is representative of that of numerous producers in the world: isolated, they cultivate small plots of land (on average 1-3 hectares) in mountainous zones that are difficult to access. Due to this enclosure, they sell their coffee to intermediaries who are in a strong position for negotiating the cost price. This price in turn depends on prices fixed by the stock exchanges in New York (Arabica) and London (Robusta), who have a reputation for being unpredictable and fluctuating, as they are subject to speculation. When the rates fall, local prices collapse in turn. Small independent producers often have no other choice than to leave their land to go to work in other regions. In order to remedy this precariousness and improve living conditions, some producers are organised into cooperatives: they are thus able to share their harvests, invest in transportation and transformation equipment, share their experiences and negotiate more effectively with buyers.

The fairtrade label Max Havelaar targets these cooperatives. In exchange for the respect of environmental and social criteria, the label offers them new commercial openings with better conditions, to allow producers to live decently from their work. The CENFROCAFÉ and CEPICAFÉ Co-ops are situated in the north of Peru, in the region of Piura, on the first foothills of the Andes. They are certified by independent quality controllers and are now in touch commercially with buyers who sell their coffee in France, but also throughout Europe and in the United States.

The mechanisation of harvesting is impossible here and the yields are poor due to the topography and the soil. However, the coffee grown here is blessed with exceptional conditions: it grows at altitude in the shade of tropical trees and is tended according to techniques that have been transmitted from father to son over several generations. These assets confer considerable potential to local coffee and allow traditional farming techniques to be preserved.

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