Oaxaqueños become independent from monopolies and begin to export their coffee without intermediaries

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After so many years of struggle and struggle against the deceptions and unfair practices of the government, companies, and intermediaries, the National Union of Agricultural Workers (UNTA) determined in 2015 to become a social enterprise to do the processing and pack the organic coffee produced by its members, mainly from indigenous and marginalized
communities.

And with the acquisition and certification, and high-tech machinery, with its own resources and government financing, they have been able to break the barriers of commercialization and now export the grain directly with their brands to the United States, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom and some other countries in Europe.

The organization also makes coffee from other social centers and even private companies – and sometimes also helps to market its product abroad with its client base – but always with the principle of honesty.

The leader said that UNTA had its origin at the beginning of the 80s when peasants from municipalities in different regions decided to create some organizations and thus be able to commercialize the grain directly, to defeat the missing Mexican Institute of Coffee (Inmecafé) because it controlled the market for the benefit of the National Peasant Confederation (CNC), an appendix of the PRI.

“There was no other way (of marketing); it was a government monopoly, “he reiterated. Besides, he added, coffee growers to generate brands, their own markets and export, had to have a dry profit and to have a dry benefit an export permit was needed. “Then, the discussion was generated of who was the first egg or chicken?” He added.

In this way, he stressed that the farmers began to bet on the organic production of coffee and a rapprochement with the International Association of Organic Agriculture and especially with the Dutch priest of Santa Maria Guienagati, Frans Van der Hoff – creator of the Union of Indigenous Communities of the Isthmus Region (UCIRI) and pioneer of the so-called Fair Trade-, to start the marketing work abroad our coffee;

“In Ecatepec ( State of Mexico ) there was a dry profit and they gave us a chance to put our coffee; That was our first experience. After that, we assembled some private benefits, “he added

However, he stressed that the peasants decided to move away when the corruption came to these organizations and thus began their own journey to conform, in 2009, to the UNTA with 12 coffee-growing organizations of San Pedro El Alto, Santiago Xanica, Santiago Atitlan, Santiago Zacatepec , Huautla de Jiménez, San Marcial Ozolotepec, Santa Cruz Zenzontepec and San Juan Teponaxtla, among other communities, where around five thousand producers participated

Source: argumentopolitico

The Mazatlan Post