The Guatemalan government is withdrawing from the International Coffee Agreement, the first country to make the leave since the United States made the same move in 2018.
Once the withdrawal process is completed Oct. 1, Guatemala will become the only coffee-producing country not participating in the International Coffee Organization pact.
The agreement was intended to promote an equitable coffee trade environment that would support smallholder farms. That goal has not been met, according to a government statement. Guatemala’s coffee producers have faced low trade revenues that have not covered the costs of managing farms and producing coffee beans.
As an alternative, a new alliance between producers and other entities will be created to export coffee.
The United States, one of the world’s leading coffee consumers, left the international agreement seeking equitable trade to keep with the “America First” policies of the Trump Administration. The United States is the largest importer of Guatemalan coffee.