GAF
First meeting of Coffee Exporting Poles from Guantánamo
The event, which invited Cuban and Italian businessmen, Bolivia, Peru and Russia, is chaired by Elexis Legrá Calderín, director of Coffee, Cacao and Coco of the Agroforestry Group of the Ministry of Agriculture (GAF)
To establish the guidelines for the commercialization and internationalization of Cuban coffee in 2022, Guantánamo hosts, on November 28 and 29, at the facilities of the Procesadora Asdrúbal López, Alto Serra, the first meeting of Export Poles of the bean in Cuba as part of the activities of the V edition of the Chocolate with Coffee Festival. The event, which invited Cuban and Italian, Bolivian, Peruvian and Russian businessmen, is chaired by Elexis Legrá Calderín, director of Coffee, Cacao and Coco of the Agroforestry Group of the Ministry of Agriculture (GAF), with the participation of executives from companies subordinate to the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Cimex, Cuba Café, La Confitera de La Habana and other entities. It is a space where producers and buyers converge to analyze interests, conduct business, and study new exportable items such as turmeric, ginger, aloe vera ... “We started with coffee because in Guantánamo most of the Arabian species destined for export is obtained, here too more than 80% of the production of coconut and cocoa is concentrated, that is, it has all the conditions to become the headquarters of this national event with international projections ", stressed the manager. The meeting includes in its programming, the presentation of the book The History of Coffee, by Julio Larramendi and a fair with the main elaborations of the Cuban Upper East from the grain, all available in the Art Zone center, of the local subsidiary of the Fund Cuban of Cultural Goods. Likewise, on the day the First Coffee Cupping event is held, sponsored by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), where a score of prestigious specialists at the regional level participate, such as the Guantanamo taster Francisca Holder Ges and Peruvian guests . According to the Italian Furio Massolino, an expert from the AICS, the idea is part of the More Coffee Project in its third phase, to promote this crop, attractive not only for its high quality, but also for the agroecological conditions in which it is obtained. . “Cuba is an example of how the economic, social and environmental dimensions come together harmoniously, since the peasant takes advantage of natural conditions to plant coffee, and in turn intersperses food that serves for his livelihood while waiting for the income generated by the grain. It is an ideal practice, which we shape with science and technique, while we learn, "he said. The National Meeting of Coffee Exporters Poles, and the cupping event, with the product fair as a complement, constitute an extraordinary opportunity for Guantánamo, which is called to become a sort of showcase for the promotion and sale of Cuban coffee to customers. from all over the world, who will be able to check each stage in the grain's life cycle, from sowing to processing as a guarantee of quality.
