The world's ninth largest coffee exporter-Mexico coffee producing coffee bean characteristics History story

The vast majority (90 per cent) of Mexico's coffee beans come from four states in the southern half of the country: Chiapas (44 per cent), Oaxaca (11 per cent), Veracruz (29 per cent) and Puebla (11 per cent) (source: SIAP 2013). More than 500000 farmers grow coffee, of which about 70 per cent are small farmers with less than 10 hectares of land. Large estates are rare-only 0.06 per cent of farms are larger than 50 hectares. [source: Amecaf é, August 2012].

Nearly 97 per cent of Mexico's production is Arabica coffee, most of which are traditional varieties such as Garnica, Typica and Bourbon. However, this situation is changing due to the influence of coffee leaf rust, and many manufacturers are introducing Catimor strains to combat the effects of fungi. Some of them, such as Marsellesa, can provide good cup quality and increase production and disease resistance. It is too early, but despite recent losses, many manufacturers are taking positive steps. The plant is grown in 16 states in Mexico, but most of it is distributed in 711000 hectares (2018 data) in the south of the country.

Coffee first appeared in the late 18th century, when it grew up on European farms, mainly Mexican indigenous workers. A revolution that took place at the beginning of the 20th century began the process of changing the status quo through land reform.

Today, Mexican farms are very different from the large plantations of the past: the recent agricultural census recorded 515000 producers, 85 per cent of whom were indigenous Mexicans and 95 per cent of the acreage was less than 3 hectares. Small and indigenous producers are the most vulnerable in the coffee industry as a whole, although the Government of Mexico is working with the National Institute of Indigenous Peoples (INPI) to support them. Most of Mexico's production is organized through cooperatives. It is also worth noting that Mexico is one of the world's largest exporters of organically certified coffee, with as many as 8 per cent of producers growing the coffee, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER). These facts are relevant, but to understand why, it is necessary to go back nearly 40 years.

In 1973, the Mexican government recognized the potential of coffee in helping rural development and established the National Coffee Institute INMECAFE. Ten years later, coffee became Mexico's most valuable export crop, accounting for 35% of total agricultural production by the mid-1980s. Production peaked, with raw coffee production exceeding 440000 tons in 1990. The collapse of the international coffee agreement abolished the minimum price of coffee, and eventually INMECAFE shut down. Instead, cooperatives not only support indigenous producers in Mexico, but also encourage the production of organic coffee.

Mexico exported 2.6 million 60-kilogram bags in 2018. Although it accounts for less than 1% of global coffee exports, it still makes the country the world's ninth-largest coffee exporter.