Chiapas looks to expand global market for its coffee

From an article on TheNews.com.mx:

Tapachula, Chiapas., 17 Nov. (Notimex) .- Organizations of the social and private sectors have formed a common front to seek alternatives for selling Chiapas coffee in international markets and attracting foreign investment, coffee leaders reported.

The director of the Indigenous Ecological Federation of Chiapas (FIECH), Edgar Flores Miguel, said it is necessary to invest in the sector to expand growth, taking into consideration that the state is now third in organic coffee production in the world.

To continue with the expansion of the cultivation of coffee, Chiapas requires credits for the current cycle of at least $180 million dollars but the Cafe Financial (Fancafé) has little ability to raise 50 million, so there is a lack of funding, he said.

In this regard, the general coordinator of the Maya Organic Organizations Network, Jorge Aguilar Reyna, said producer representatives will travel to Japan to seek to
position Chiapas coffee and penetrate that market.

"Coffee is not only important to attract resources for Mexico, but it also protects the environment, generating development, social stability and emigration stops. If the crops remain profitable, more than one 1.1 million Chiapas residents benefit," he noted.