By Jay Forte, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The coffee industry in the state of Rio de Janeiro is looking to reestablish itself as a leading producer in Brazil with R$1.7 million investments in a coffee “rebeneficiamento” operation used for grading and sorting raw coffee beans. The goal is to offer better quality coffee beans at a competitive price and provide stronger financial results for coffee producers in the region.
The equipment, purchased with funds from BNDES, passed through the Sustainable Rural Development Strategy – DRS, will allow the top quality coffee in the region, which previously went to Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, to go the new rebeneficiado in Rio de Janeiro state.
On Thursday July 17th, the Secretary of Agriculture, Christino Áureo, will attend the opening of the coffee rebeneficiamento unit Coopercanol – (Coffee Growers Cooperative of the Northwest Fluminense) in Varre-Sai.
According to data from Emater-Rio, and organizations linked to the Department of Agriculture, the coffee hub of Rio’s Northwest Region, which includes the municipalities of Varre-Sai, Natividade, Porciúncula e Bom Jesus do Itabapoana, is responsible for an annual production of 200,000 bags of coffee, involving over two thousand producers area exceeding 10,000 hectares.
The coffee industry in Brazil is set to grow by two percent in Brazil in 2015. The main driver of the growth is the production of coffee in capsules, where an increase in sales of 40 to 50 percent are expected according to the Brazilian Coffee Industry Association, ABIC.
Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world and also the main exporter and has the second largest consumer base after the United States. Coffee is consumed in 98.2 percent of Brazilian homes and machines using single-dose capsules are increasingly popular.