Coffee from Minas Gerais' PIPC region gains prominence in the Japanese market.

With sustainable practices, coffee from Minas Gerais delights consumers in Japan.

PIPC producer Eduardo Lana celebrates coffee sale to Japan alongside Taishu Utsumi, Trader at Volcafe Japan; Gabriel Oliveira, Agricultural Engineer from CCA; and Marcelo Pedroza, Commercial Director of Volcafe.

Volcafe, an associate member of the Cerrado das Águas Consortium (CCA), has been developing a market in Japan for coffees from Minas Gerais produced using Climate Smart Agriculture strategies.

Climate change and action to mitigate its effects guide the actions of the Cerrado das Águas Consortium, which, together with rural producers in river basins in the Cerrado Mineiro region, works to make agriculture more resilient to the climate by adopting Climate-Smart Agriculture practices.

Thus, Volcafe, an international trading company and associate member of the collaborative platform, has been developing the Japanese market for coffees produced by CCA members and is already reaping the rewards of this commercial opening.

In 2022, an exclusive sale was made to buyers in Japan, whose lot consisted of coffees produced using Climate-Smart Agriculture strategies, under the guidance of the CCA, delivering quality, sustainability, and responsibility. The result culminated in a new demand for these coffees, whose market development is being carried out by Volcafe Japan in partnership with the Brazilian unit, coordinated by the commercial director, Marcelo Pedroza.

According to him, Volcafe Japan has been promoting coffees produced under the PIPC strategies conducted by the Cerrado das Águas Consortium, and the response is growing interest. In fact, in the 2023 harvest, 150 bags of coffee were sold by one of the platform's producers, whose Volcafe Japan trader personally participated in a mission organized by the CCA in March to learn more about the strategies, the producers, and the collaborative work being done.

The sustainable Minas Gerais coffee sold this year was produced at Fazenda Sílvia Amélia, in Serra do Salitre, and is part of the Ribeirão Grande basin, the main water supply source for the municipality. The property has a total area of ​​264 hectares, of which 170 are dedicated to coffee production.

Among the strategies implemented by the Consortium on the property are: incorporating diversity between rows through a mix of cover crops; increasing landscape diversity through tree planting and enriching native vegetation areas. The producer, Eduardo Lana, celebrates the results he has achieved in farming and the recognition resulting from the partnership with CCA.

“We have always envisioned, in our properties, respect for the land, the fauna and flora, the waters, and all the physical structures that compose them. We see the CCA (Community Environmental Council) as a fundamental partner that will manage the system in which we are embedded in a macro way, as it can reach my neighbors, the community in which we are located, the private sector, and the public authorities. We are not an isolated piece of land; we are part of a whole, and, in our view, the CCA can be the connecting point for these agents that form the whole.”

Afirma Lana.

“Volcafe is proud to be part of the CCA and celebrates with its partners a new shipment of coffee destined for the Japanese market. We are very happy to recognize and encourage the producers in the program through real business deals that add value to their operation and their product. This new demand is recognition of the quality of Cerrado coffee, the excellent work done by producers in implementing climate-smart practices, and the tireless work of the CCA executive team. Congratulations to everyone involved! Let's go together, we're just getting started!”

Celebrates Marcelo Pedroza, Commercial Director of Volcafe.

The commercialization of sustainable Minas Gerais coffee is also celebrated at the CCA. For the Executive Secretary, Fabiane Sebaio, support like this from Volcafe in promoting and commercializing Minas Gerais coffee produced with PIPC strategies demonstrates the commitment of the collaborative platform and, even more so, of the producers to evolve their production systems while conserving resources.

“Selling coffee to Japan is a way of recognizing the PIPC producer who is seeking to transition to Climate-Smart Agriculture, and this is also one of the CCA's objectives: to seek mechanisms so that producers are recognized and have the conditions to make the transition.”

Fabiane Sebaio adds to that.