Council approves distribution of Funcafé resources

The Coffee Policy Deliberative Council (CDPC) approved this Friday (13) the proposal for the distribution of resources from the Coffee Economy Defense Fund (Funcafé) for the 2020/2021 harvest year. Of the R$5,7 billion in the fund's budget, R$1,6 billion will be allocated for costs, R$2,3 billion for marketing, R$1,15 billion for the acquisition of coffee.

Another R$650 million will go to working capital and R$10 million to the recovery of coffee plantations.

At the opening of the meeting, Minister Tereza Cristina (Agriculture, Livestock and Supply) said that it is necessary to think of instruments to expand Funcafé's budget and finance more producers, calling on market people to think about alternatives. 

“What we have tried to do with all the production chains here at Mapa is to encourage members to think outside the box, and we are doing that here every day. If it works, great, but we will focus mainly on these products that are already traditional chains, which are already segmented, such as coffee and sugar cane”, said the minister. 

The minister also highlighted the need to expand the gourmet coffee segment, with resources to equalize financing, lower interest rates, providing production alternatives to smaller coffee growers, knowing where the bottlenecks are to help them add value to production.

Regarding the minimum price of coffee, the minister highlighted that work needs to be done to improve it, with the aim of giving more confidence to coffee farming. “This value is technical and must be consistent with reality. It should not be used as a pricing policy”, she warned.

OIC

The Council also discussed the maintenance of the International Coffee Organization (ICO), to fulfill its role in supporting global coffee farming.

The minister recognized that Brazil, as the world's largest coffee producer, should take a more active role in the organization. She said she supports the country's presence in the OIC and defends the presentation of a restructuring plan at the entity's meeting in September in London. “It is the only body in the sector and needs to be used well”, she added.