The Mexican government wants Central American countries to work together and find solutions to the continuing coffee pricing crisis.
Meeting at the 17th Summit of the Tuxtla Mechanism in late August, Mexican officials encouraged its neighbors to create a group that would help influence the international price of coffee. Others at the summit included representatives from Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
Víctor Villalobos, Mexico’s secretary of agriculture and rural development, told the summit that while much of the world’s best coffee beans come from the region, the low cost of coffee does not match the hard work of farmers.
“In a complex international context, it is our responsibility to strengthen the region in order to promote sustainable development, create opportunities for our more than 233 million citizens and foster an authentic integration that connects us in our shared geography, history and culture, in addition to our challenges and opportunities," Villalobos said, according to published reports.
Mexico will present a plan on how to move forward in early September when the Central American Agricultural Council meets. The goal will be to show that the region's coffee should be priced fairly to match its quality. That imbalance affects the social and economic development of the Mesoamerican nations.