Colombia’s FNC and US-Based Fintrac Sign MOU to Improve Specialty Market Access

With U.S. partnership, Colombian coffee leaders are seeking to boost specialty coffee market access by working with smallholder farmers to improve production, while building better transportation infrastructure and strengthening producer associations.

The specialty-coffee-focused initiative is part of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) five-year Producers to Market Alliance program, designed to improve competitiveness of rural agricultural producers in Colombia by tapping into new market opportunities.

The United States remains by far the largest importing country of Colombia’s renowned washed Arabica coffees — importing nearly half of all Arabica exports — while the U.S. specialty market continues to grow, providing opportunities for premium prices for higher-grade coffees.

For the initiative, the FNC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with U.S.-based consultancy and agricultural solutions provider Fintrac, whose Colombian project office will be the implementing partner. The initiative follows a more general MOU signed between the FNC and USAID in 2016 to promote rural community and agricultural development in Colombia’s post-conflict zones.

The Fintrac-implemented project will involve coffee-farming communities in the areas of Caquetá, Meta, south of Bolívar, north of Antioquia, and Cauca, according to an announcement late last week by the FNC.