A group of nine coffee producers from Ruta Escondida and Chocó Andino, in the northwest of the Metropolitan District of Quito (DMQ), will take part in a Specialty Coffee Business Roundtable, organized by our office in Ecuador and the Municipality of the DMQ.

The event will take place this coming October 13 at the Finlandia Hotel, starting at 11h00, and will count with the presence of 12 specialty coffee shops, which will taste and learn about the varieties offered by the so-called Café de Quito.

The initiative is part of the Project for the Implementation of Sustainable Strategies for the Strengthening of Rural Productive Competitiveness. Carol Chehab, Rimisp’s Director in the Andean country explains that the work with the municipality of the Ecuadorian capital began almost two years ago with the support to small rural enterprises with a biocultural approach, in order to dynamize their businesses after the pandemic.

“Coffee growers have been given coffee roasting machines or machines for the management of bio-inputs. Others have been supported with the design and implementation of web pages to promote their products. And there is another group with which we are working on marketing schemes, since one of the most serious problems faced by rural enterprises is the marketing of their services or of their production in the case of agribusinesses,” he said.

The Business Roundtable will be held between producers and coffee production associations, so that they can establish a link with these specialized coffee shops and develop a commercial relationship. “In order to make the quality of the coffee known, we are supporting them in the analysis of the bean samples, so that it can be their letter of introduction to the buyers. Through a cupping carried out by experts to determine the basic characteristics of the product. On their side the coffee shops will identify their annual demand and will be able to do business directly with the farmers, thus avoiding intermediation”, he said.

Rimisp will follow up on the results of the Business Roundtable and the commitments that will be made between producers and buyers. “We hope that this space that we will develop with different actors can be replicated with other products in the country”, adds Carol Chehab.