Café da Nova Alta Paulista receives geographical indication seal

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA) has been encouraging various producer groups to obtain the Geographical Indication (GI) seal, considered a market differentiator. On October 7, Brazilian agriculture received yet another recognition: the GI for coffee from Nova Alta Paulista, a region located in western São Paulo state.

The seal's use is authorized by the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI). This was the 11th GI in São Paulo and the sixth related to coffee production in the state. On the MAPA website, you can track all registered geographical indications and the Ministry's development efforts.

The recognition applies to the 30 municipalities that make up the region, although only 23 still grow coffee today. If producers in the seven cities that currently do not produce coffee resume planting and follow the rules set out in the specifications, they may be included in the GI. The documentation was drafted to leave this possibility open.

Estanislau Steck, Superintendent of Agriculture and Livestock in São Paulo, emphasized that Nova Alta Paulista was one of the last colonized agricultural frontiers in the state, along with Alta Araraquarense. After the second half of the 20th century, coffee was the main driver of Nova Alta Paulista's development, but it suffered greatly from the 1975 frost, which destroyed coffee plantations. "The historical bond between the region and its pioneer landowners and settlers remains strong to this day, thanks to the hardships they faced," he stated.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) issued the Official Instrument of Geographical Delimitation, a document that defines the territory of the GI. The 23 cities covered at this initial stage are: Adamantina, Arco-Íris, Dracena, Florida Paulista, Herculândia, Iacri, Inúbia Paulista, Irapuru, Junqueirópolis, Lucélia, Mariápolis, Monte Castelo, Nova Guataporanga, Osvaldo Cruz, Ouro Verde, Pacaembu, Parapuã, Rinópolis, Sagres, Salmourão, São João do Pau d'Alho, Tupã, and Tupi Paulista.

More than one hundred producers have already expressed interest in continuing the work to promote the product and the region. The region is home to approximately 400 people, and it is estimated that there are over a thousand coffee growers.

The IG will be managed by the Association of Rural Producers of Pacaembu and Region (Aprup), which foresees development and growth for the entire region, adding value to the product and the lands where coffee is grown.

Coffee quality competitions have recently resumed in the region. They ran from 2012 to 2015, were suspended until 2022, and returned in 2023, during the recognition process. Each year, the number of samples classified as specialty coffees increases.