history of Peru
Image source: Royal Coffee
Peru’s coffee production began in the mid-1700s, earlier than many Central and South American nations. Most of the consumption remained domestic until the late 1800s when the Indonesian coffee industry was decimated by disease and European buyers started looking for alternative markets.
In the early 20th century, the English began investing in the Peruvian coffee market and started establishing plantation-like farms. After the two World Wars, England’s Peruvian landholdings were sold and distributed to thousands of local farmers, which provided greater autonomy but also weakened larger commercial systems. This made it difficult for the smaller farmers to get their beans to market. Farmers began forming small cooperatives, and by the 1970s, 80% of the coffee exported was produced by small cooperatives. While these cooperatives did increase farmers’ access to the market, the system was not without flaw, and farmers often saw little of the money made from the exports.
Peru has over 110,000 coffee growers who are predominantly indigenous farmers living in their native lands without common amenities, such as electricity or running water. Peruvian farmers cultivate shade grown, high-quality Arabica beans and process their coffee using micro-wet-milling. This traditional practice has helped protect Peru’s water resources from the pollution caused by modern pulping factories. Once the coffee has been processed, farmers travel to markets in nearby towns on foot or by mule to sell their beans, often to a single buyer. The disorganization and remoteness of the markets means that farmers are often forced to sell their beans at a low price and the original and unique quality of their coffee is lost as beans are mixed and traded many times before landing in port cities. The result for farmers is exploitation of their work and estrangement from their product.
In response to these unfair trading practices, small cooperatives have banded together to into larger cooperative organizations. Over the last decade, this consolidation has allowed for more organized business practices and helped producers connect with entities such as Equal Exchange, resulting in better coffee prices, access to larger markets and buyers, and training for farmers. Due to these coffee producers efforts, small Peruvian cooperatives are now the second largest supplier of Fair Trade coffee after Mexico.
In addition to a more organized and rewarding system of trade, farmers are now able to produce higher quality coffee beans. Peru has become one of the top third wave coffee producers with a focus on organic and Rainforest Alliance certifications.
