Exportación de café a Estados Unidos: conoce el panorama actual y los requisitos para llevarlo a cabo

The export of coffee from Mexico to the United States is one of the most variable commercial activities in our nation. Over time, the production of Mexican coffee has strengthened its resources to become not only a source of multiple jobs, but also a key factor in promoting the trade of this product and, at the same time, boosting its consumption.

Due to this growth, different support programs for coffee exports have emerged with the aim of increasing the reach of this sector at an international level and promoting its production levels to enter on the right foot into an increasingly competitive.

Reading: Cafe de exportacion

For this reason, we have written this blog post to tell you about the requirements and documents related to the export of coffee to the United States, in addition to sharing some important figures on the production and export of this important grain for the world.

exporting coffee to the united states: requirements and documents

Keep in mind that to export coffee from Mexico to the United States, you must have a series of requirements at hand that must not be missing in the process.

In the first instance, it must have the national registry of coffee exporters, which corresponds to a code supported by amecafe, under the terms of the statistics regulations of the oic.

In addition to said registration, it is essential that you have the following documents:

exportation of coffee from Mexico to the United States for individuals

access the single window for Mexican foreign trade (vucem)
make request for service as a coffee exporter in sige (electronic management computer system)
proof of tax situation (rfc).
official ID.
proof of current address (maximum 3 months old)
when the above requirements are met, the agreement and corresponding technical annex will be signed
signature of documents (agreement and annex) depending on the service or profile requested

exportation of coffee from mexico to the united states for legal entities

access the single window for Mexican foreign trade (vucem)
make request for service as a coffee exporter in sige (electronic management computer system)
incorporation act of the company.
power of attorney
proof of tax situation (rfc)
official identification of the legal representative
proof of current address (maximum 3 months old)
when the above requirements are met, the agreement and corresponding technical annex will be signed
signature of documents (agreement and annex) depending on the service or profile requested

Coffee production in Mexico: figures and data

Before talking about the current situation regarding the export of Mexican coffee, it is important to mention the national circumstances of this sector. In the first instance, coffee cultivation in Mexico employs around 500,000 producers belonging to 14 states in 480 municipalities, according to the 2017-2030 national agricultural planning program.

These states are located in 14 states of the republic, where Chiapas, Veracruz, Puebla and Oaxaca account for 90% of the national coffee production, distributed as follows:

chiapas: 41.3%
veracruz: 24.4%
Puebla: 5.8%
oaxaca: 8.2%

at first glance, it is possible to think that coffee production in mexico has good production rates, but the reality is that, according to the secretary of agriculture and rural development (sader), mexico does not occupy an important place in relation to coffee production on a global scale. In fact, it is estimated that our nation currently occupies the 11th place in terms of production of this grain, unlike previous years in which our country occupied a more favorable position.

To give some dimension to the volatility of this sector, according to cedrssa, mexico went from being the world’s fourth largest coffee producer in 1987 to eleventh in 2017. however, according to the same entity, coffee production in mexico during In 2019, it increased its operating levels thanks to the incorporation of 200.00 cultivated hectares.

In that sense, you are probably wondering about the reasons why Mexican coffee is not so stable, and the reasons are really justifiable:

First, the Mexican coffee producing sector has been affected by climatic factors, specifically, by the increase in temperature in the growing areas. As a consequence, river rainfall levels have not been active enough to cover production needs.

In fact, according to the annual report on coffee production in Mexico, extracted from the Inforural portal, “the lack of rain in the first months of the year has affected coffee production for the 2020/21 marketing year, since intense heat is preventing flowering and dry soil is reducing yields.”

On the other hand, there is a biological factor that has a direct (and negative) impact on the results of coffee production in Mexico. It is coffee rust, a plague that has been progressing in the coffee sector since 2012, discovering reductions in production levels, weakening land and ideal resources for cultivation and, as a result, the total waste of vegetation.

The previous point is, perhaps, one of the main reasons why both coffee production and export levels have decreased in recent years. The impact of coffee rust not only has repercussions on achieving the growth of this sector, but also represents the need to implement different control measures that respond effectively to this problem.

As a result of this, new strategies were proposed in the public policy of the coffee sector in order to ensure the control of this pest. In fact, according to the 2017-2030 national agricultural planning program, the following alternatives are proposed to promote coffee production in Mexico:

Promote integrated phytosanitary campaigns in the Central American region (national program for the combat and frontal eradication of the coffee berry borer and rust).
intensify replanting programs.
acquire technological equipment to improve the adaptation capacity of plantations to climate change.
promote innovation and transfer of sustainable technology.
promote productive diversification.
promote sustainable production systems with good practices that maximize product quality.
promote the contribution and sufficiency of the necessary financing for the collection, marketing, and renovation of coffee plantations and capitalization to the producer.

coffee exports in mexico: how is the outlook?

Now, after understanding the local context, it is time to learn how Mexican coffee behaves in terms of foreign trade

According to official figures from the Mexican government, from January to July 2020, around 101.86 thousand tons of coffee were exported, representing a value of 427.51 million dollars. These figures correspond to 7.7% and 19.36% higher than in the same period of 2019, respectively.

Furthermore, according to Cedrssa, Mexican coffee exports are mainly destined for the United States, representing 62.4% of exports. The remaining volume of export operations corresponds to member countries of the European Union, distributed as follows:

Italy: 15.2%
Belgium, Cuba and Switzerland: 14.2%
Germany: 2.2%

The annual production report mentions the following in relation to coffee exports in Mexico:

support programs for coffee exports in mexico

We want to end this note on the production and export of Mexican coffee by letting you know about some initiatives that aim to promote activity in this sector in the country.

Sustainability and well-being program for small coffee producers: The main objective of this program is to promote the sustainable development of agricultural rural units (uera) through resources and incentives that boost economic and productive capacity.
seeding life program: the intention of this program is to provide necessary resources to those producers with income below the rural welfare line. this with the aim of making the land even more productive and providing tools to coffee growers to be able to fertilize their land and plants.
production program for well-being: one of the main objectives of this program is to “strengthen income, employment and well-being of the productive sector as a whole, and in particular of small and medium-scale producers, which represent 85% of the country’s productive units and have the greatest growth potential in a path of sustainability”. research and technology transfer in agrometeorology, conservation of genetic resources and technical support to 11,000 producers in 378 coffee field schools.

This has been our post! We hope that now you have a clearer idea of the panorama of coffee production and exports in Mexico. Despite the difficulties, the efforts to make the coffee sector an item of great importance for national trade are evident, promoting its cultivation and proposing strategies that can positively impact growth in this context.

If you are an exporter, remember that at mundi you can request a financial factoring service, which allows you to advance the collection of your pending invoices so that you can invest in your own resources in the short term and, in this way, grow your business.

many successes!