HISTORY
From the outside, Mexico is a growing economic force, ranking 64th globally in GDP per capita. However, the coffee-producing states in the south of the country face a very different economic reality.
Production yields in these regions have dropped drastically. In the last ten years, coffee leaf rust and a lack of financial or agricultural resources to combat it have reduced production by up to 90% in some areas. Currently, the average yield in Oaxaca is only 100 kg per hectare. To put this into context, the average in Colombia is 2,400 kg per hectare.
The vast majority of Mexico's 500,000 coffee producers are small farmers with one hectare or less of land dedicated to coffee. This means their average annual production is barely 100 kg, making coffee farming increasingly unsustainable.
Our importer works with several producer groups in Oaxaca. These partnerships help improve the profitability and viability of coffee production in the region. The long-term goal is to increase yields and generate stable demand at a fair price by connecting roasters with producers. Trusting relationships are built and the foundation is laid for pricing and pre-financing coffee.
During the 2022 season, Miguel Arellanes and Luisa López Silva, who live in the Sierra Sur region, contacted our importers directly after learning about their purchasing practices through acquaintances.
These purchasing practices are being shared among producers, as the domestic market remains volatile and offers almost no additional payments for quality. By incentivizing high-quality production along with two stable payments (one for exports and one for imports), producers are allowed to evolve, gain consistency, and achieve economic stability.
You'll notice that we haven't provided farm names for Mexican coffees. In Mexico, farm names for small producers like these are very uncommon. This is because the average producer here owns and works several small plots of land around their village. As a result, each village has its own structure for organizing coffee production.
Some are organized as private entities, where land is bought, sold, and inherited. Others are entirely communal, where plots of land are shared and worked collectively. Around 90% of the land in Oaxaca is communal. Some of the few private lands in Oaxaca's coffee-growing regions are found in the Sierra Sur and Mazateca mountains.
Miguel is an independent producer from San Agustín Loxicha. His approach is both unconventional and incredibly innovative. Once he harvests the cherries from his mountainous land, he transports them from the sierra to the arid climate where he lives, in the Miahuatlán Desert.
