No mentions of coffee in Colombia’s new tax reform bill, a seaweed-covered ball, and a new program is trying to revitalize El Salvador’s farming industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s chat about this week\u2019s coffee news. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A new tax code proposed by Colombia’s new president, Gustavo Petro, has sparked controversy amongst the country’s coffee growers. Colombia\u2019s National Federation of Coffee Growers<\/a> (FNC) has asked for revisions to the tax reform bill, saying that the changes put forth by the president will hurt coffee producers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The bill takes a broad approach to the agricultural sector without specifically mentioning coffee, an industry that accounts for 7-8% of the country\u2019s GDP, according to the World Bank<\/a>. Critics say the bill includes new subsidies and tax provisions that will disproportionately affect small coffee farmers while benefiting industrial agriculture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One section in particular, which repeals an existing provision that allows coffee growers to write off nearly half their gross income as labor costs, has been specifically targeted by the FNC. The organization says this new provision will greatly reduce farmers\u2019 incomes. Political opponents have called the bill regressive: Senator Carlos Abraham Jim\u00e9nez of the left-wing Cambio Radical (Radical Change) Party said, \u201cThis reform, by removing the 40% deduction of gross income to cover coffee growers\u2019 labor costs, equals higher taxes on those least able to pay them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gustavo Petro is Colombia’s first-ever president from a left-of-center party. He has pledged to help the working and middle classes and focus on stimulating agricultural development. Critics of the tax reforms hope that the government will revise the bill with more input from the coffee sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keurig and Nespresso have long dominated the coffee pod market, but a new challenger has emerged: seaweed-coated coffee balls. The CoffeeB Globe is a new brewing system from Swiss retail giant Migros, and is being pitched as a more ecological alternative to aluminum and plastic capsules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Globe is a brewer that utilizes spheres of pre-ground coffee with a protective layer derived from seaweed. The company describes the layer as tasteless and colorless while maintaining freshness and structural integrity. The Coffee Balls are brewed individually, using technology designed by CoffeeB over the past five years. \u201cIt is a completely different system to existing coffee capsules,\u201d CoffeeB\u2019s Caroline Siefarth told Daily Coffee News<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The launch, which will begin in Switzerland and France and expand to Germany next year (no word yet on a US launch), emphasizes the device\u2019s eco-credentials. The Globe is built \u201cpartly\u2026from recycled materials,\u201d and has modular features to encourage repair rather than replacement, while the balls themselves break down easily in home composts. The coffee used is also billed as \u201ceither Rainforest Alliance, USDA Organic and\/or Fairtrade certified.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Frank Wilde, head of CoffeeB and a former Nespresso executive, claims his company\u2019s system will end the need for pod-based coffee brewers altogether. \u201cThe reason is simple: CoffeeB solves the capsule waste problem, and tastes just as good as traditional capsule coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, if we were really serious about sustainability, we\u2019d eliminate pod-based machines altogether instead of introducing yet another plastic-heavy device. But that\u2019s not the way this works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full story here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Colombia\u2019s The Green Coffee Company Launches $100m Funding Round\u2019<\/a> – via World Coffee Portal<\/em> 330,000 tons of coffee were exported from El Salvador in 2000. In 2018, according to the country\u2019s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, that number dropped to 74,800 tons. This isn\u2019t the only arena that El Salvador has experienced losses: during the 2017\/18 crop, the coffee industry accounted for 45,000 jobs, a drop of 62% from the 2000 number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The decrease in both coffee production and industry jobs is primarily due to climate change, Ricardo Esmahan of the Association of Beneficiaries and Exporters of Coffee in El Salvador (ABECAFE) told Global Coffee Report<\/em><\/a>. The drop in export was due to roya<\/em>, or coffee rust, which was able to propagate due to climate disasters in the country. \u201cIt was a perfect storm,\u201d says Esmahan. \u201cWe had a tropical storm just before the crop, then we have a hot climate made worse by climate change\u2026 production went down but it has never recovered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In response, the Salvadoran government launched a program called Strengthening the Climate Change Resilience in El Salvador’s Coffee Forests, modeled on Colombia\u2019s Castillo renovation campaign<\/a> of the mid-2000s and Honduras\u2019 Lempira program of the early 2010s<\/a>. These initiatives sought to combat the growing problem of coffee leaf rust by investing in new, more robust and rust-resistant cultivars\u2014although the Lempira variety widely planted in Honduras was shown to be susceptible to rust in 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At a projected cost of $377 million, the government hopes the program will transform the industry and build a sustainable future for coffee in El Salvador. Plans include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, funding is an issue. The International Development Bank (IDB) will provide a $45 million loan, but that still leaves a massive gap to fully fund the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe do have our doubts about the take-up because many producers have stopped growing coffee altogether because they went broke from the years of low international prices,\u201d Esmahan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, he remains optimistic: \u201cThe coffee sector used to be the backbone of the Salvadoran economy. [It\u2019s] not anymore, but we could be again hopefully.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Does Anyone Drink Hot Coffee Anymore?\u2019 by Gina Cherelus<\/a>\u2018From New Swiss Brand CoffeeB, the Coffee Ball Has Dropped\u2019 – via <\/strong>Daily Coffee News<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
More News<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u2018World Coffee Producers Forum Coming to Rwanda in 2023\u2019<\/a> – via Daily Coffee News<\/em>
\u2018Brazilian Scientists Develop Green Coffee Sorting Method Using Multispectral Imaging\u2019<\/a> – via Sprudge<\/em>
\u2018Nearly 40% of UK Hospitality Businesses Facing Skilled Worker Shortage\u2019<\/a> – via World Coffee Portal<\/em>
\u2018Study Backed by Qima and Lavazza Examines Yemeni Coffee Names\u2019<\/a> – via Daily Coffee News<\/em>
\u2018For New and Established Coffee Brands, Ethics Are at the Forefront\u2019<\/a> – via VinePair<\/em>
\u2018Seven Pounds Of Coffee Just Sold For $42,000\u2019<\/a> – via Sprudge<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Week in Coffee Unionizing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Coffee and the Climate Crisis<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Beyond the Headlines: Starbucks Edition<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u2018How Starbucks Became an American Punch Bag\u2019 by Brooke Masters<\/a>
\u2018You Might Think Starbucks is a \u2018Progressive\u2019 Company. You\u2019d be Wrong\u2019 by Hamilton Nolan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n