en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Colombian government and the National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC) signed an agreement this Thursday (2nd) to extend the management contract of the National Coffee Fund (FoNC) by five months, ensuring the continued execution of projects funded by quasi-fiscal resources and leaving room for the next administration to negotiate a new long-term management agreement.
Under the agreement, the Federation will continue to manage the fund according to historical practices, avoiding an institutional vacuum before the current contract expires. The decision also transfers negotiations for a new management model to the next government, following weeks of dialogue between the government and the representative entity of coffee growers. Germán Bahamón, General Manager of the Federation, stated that the agreement reflects nearly ninety years of institutional trust.
The National Coffee Fund is financed by a quasi-fiscal tax of six US cents per pound of exported green coffee, equivalent to approximately $0.06 (0.33 Brazilian reais) per 0.4536 kilograms of green coffee exported at the current exchange rate. The fund supports projects such as technical assistance, research, commercialization, international promotion, and public goods for coffee-producing regions. The Federation stated that the agreement ensures the continuity of projects that directly benefit over 560,000 coffee-growing families nationwide.
The decision comes as Colombia's coffee industry faces challenges including declining production and a significant appreciation of the peso, which reduces exporters' local currency income. International price volatility and rising production costs have also squeezed profit margins for many producers. Against this backdrop, maintaining the fund's operations is even more critical. Over the past decade, of the funds managed by the Federation, 147 billion Colombian pesos (approximately 203 million Brazilian reais) were used to promote Colombian coffee, 270 billion Colombian pesos (approximately 373 million Brazilian reais) for scientific research, 599 billion Colombian pesos (828 million Brazilian reais) for social investment projects, 1.3 trillion Colombian pesos (1.8 billion Brazilian reais) for technical assistance, and 4.5 trillion Colombian pesos (6.2 billion Brazilian reais) for public goods and institutional services for coffee cultivation.
The signing of the extension also coincides with the start of the electoral process for Colombian coffee growers, where producers will elect their municipal and departmental representatives, as well as the beginning of the centennial celebrations of the National Federation of Coffee Growers (founded in 1927).
