In markets such as North America and Western Europe, a consumer segment wants the grain to meet aspects such as ethical and sustainable sourcing, and its production process to be certified.
According to the study "Trends and Opportunities for value-added coffee exports" conducted by the Differentiated Coffees Committee of AGEXPORT, reveals how to change the strategies for marketing good quality coffee with higher value added (roasted), for the next coffee harvest of 2,019 - 2,020 and those to come.
Mieles Joya de Cerén began exporting certified organic honey to Costa Rica, and in the coming months plans to start marketing it in Portugal and Spain.
The Salvadoran company began certification in 2017, and after analyzing 4,000 hives in 87 bee houses owned by seven national beekeepers, was able to complete the process.
Saúl Díaz, regional director of Swisscontact, the institution implementing the project called Promotion of Competitiveness for Sustainable Beekeeping (Focapis), told Elmundo.sv that "... Of the 80 tons of certified organic honey, 60 will go to Costa Rica and in the coming months will be sold to Portugal and Spain. This achievement breaks the paradigm that it was not possible to certify organic honey as a small country, with conventional production systems, and opens the way for other producers to venture into high-value markets with differentiated products."
Reports in Nicaragua indicate that only five companies managed to obtain the certificate which will be needed from July 1st to export by sea.
The Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP warned that a week before the rule takes effect, only five exporting companies have carried out the procedures needed to certify the weight of marine cargo when the rule goes into effect.
The country may not be prepared to meet the weight certification requirement for containers which will come into effect on July 1.
An article on Elsalvador.com reports that "... the Corporation of Exporters of El Salvador (Coexport) expressed concern in the sector over the approval of amendments to SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea), which includes new regulations requiring exporters to submit their containers to a weight verification process, and certification of the ship when full, or the total weight of all packages of the cargo container. "
Certification processes in Good Manufacturing Practices in companies in the sectors of food and beverage and pharmaceutics will be financed by up to 80%.
Support for the program "Export to Quality" aims at improving the level of quality defined by companies in the food and beverage and pharmaceutical chemist, so that they can access markets in the United States and Central America, complying with regulations and standards of product quality demanded by consumers. The program provides certification in Good Manufacturing Practices through the development of specialized training modules and technical assistance given to participating companies for which the financial support of 80% of program costs will be provided and linkages will be made with other funding sources such as FONDEPRO and Bandesal to develop projects that improve the productive infrastructure of the participating companies.
The new version is optionally immediately applicable together with the current Version 4 and will be mandatory for all new and rectified audits from July 1, 2016.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office :
The GLOBALG.AP Board recently announced the introduction of an update to version 5 of its food safety standard Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) for crops and aquaculture.
The International Standards Organization plans to publish the new ISO standards 14001: 2015 on environmental management in September of 2015.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
New ISO standard will be published in September
In order to respond to market changes and demands, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) plans to publish the new ISO standard 14001: 2015 on environmental management in September 2015.
The Guild of coffee producers has highlighted a need to provide certification of origin for national seeds, not only imported ones, in order to improve the sector's performance.
Currently the specialized division CENTA-Café is the body responsible for certifying seeds, however, the company argues that it only verifies if available seeds meet the required characteristics.
With the Global GAP certification that they hope to obtain this year, with 12,000 hectares of crops Mexico projects that it will increase its fruit exports to the US market.
From a press release issued by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (Procomer) :
Mexico to increase mango exports
54% of the 135,000 tonnes of mango estimated to be produced in 2015 in Michoacán (about 73,000 tons) will be for export.
Due to recent seizures of products attempting to enter the country without health permits, an announced has been made of enhanced controls to prevent the entry of any food that does not have the appropriate certifications.
From a statement issued by the Government of Panama:
Pursuant to the Health Standards and / or phytosanitary and health protection of the population, the Panamanian Authority for Food Safety (AUPSA) reiterates that any food product that does not meet the required provisions will be retained, returned or incinerated if necessary.
The consumption of food products certified as Fairtrade is maintaining its upward trend, especially in developed markets such as Europe and North America.
From a statement issued by the Foreign Trade Promotion Office of Costa Rica (Procomer):
Reyka Fick, communicator at the firm Fairtrade International, said that in the last year Fairtrade certified products grew internationally and even grew in markets such as South Africa, Kenya and India."In terms of a marketing approach, a central part of the strategy followed in producing countries (such as those previously mentioned) is to support the domestic market," said Fick.
Coffee regions of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador have obtained certificates of geographical origin for export.
Acatenango in Guatemala, Apaneca-Llamatepec in El Salvador and Honduran Western Coffee's in Honduras, have obtained the certificates that guarantee the quality of the coffee produced in these geographic regions.
"The appellation goes beyond providing a good image for the country, it is a strategy for competitiveness for coffee growing," said Miguel Medina, vice president of the National Coffee Association (ANACAFÉ). "
The system allows to compare various voluntary certifications so that more informed decisions can be made regarding sustainable production and trade.
From an article by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
The ITC Updates Standards Map
The International Trade Centre (ITC) has launched an improved version of the Standards Map, in order to meet the challenge posed by voluntary standards, due to the exponential growth seen over the last decade.
A Dutch study presents the expectations of importers of flowers and foliage in terms of sustainability, certification, required standards and other practices.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands has conducted a study detailing the expectations of consumers and importers of flowers and foliage in European countries, consumer preferences, procedures and techniques used in the production and transfer of flowers, labeling, relevance of certification of products, and definition of sustainability, among other things.
Nicaragua pork producers obtained permissions to perform the first export of meat to El Salvador.
After several years of trying to enter the international market, the Nicaraguan slaughterhouse Cacique has signed its first sale contract in El Salvador.
The contract initially involves sending a monthly container, but in the short-term this could double and be increase further still if other slaughterhouses are interested in selling their products in El Salvador.