Deputy Wilmar Castro: Coffee Law protects value chain and stimulates exports

The deputy to the National Assembly (AN) Wilmar Castro pointed out that the Coffee Law, once sanctioned and enacted, orders the sector's value chain and creates conditions for expanding the placement of Venezuelan coffee in foreign markets.

After the regular session, he indicated that the instrument establishes a comprehensive legal framework for the sector, covering planting, processing, commercialization and export, in addition to recognizing the economic and historical weight of coffee activity in the country, according to a press release from the AN.

Castro explained that the project incorporates a certification system that supports identity of origin, denomination of origin and quality parameters, with the objective of recovering the position of Venezuelan coffee in international trade.

The parliamentarian added that the regulations simplify export procedures and eliminate obstacles that have limited the growth of the sector, while allowing the cultivation of varieties such as Robusta coffee, provided that they have phytosanitary certification from the governing body for plant and animal health.

He also highlighted that the legal text incorporates an environmental approach aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the activity and safeguarding the role of mountain coffee in the protection of hydrographic basins.

Castro reported that Venezuela covers the estimated domestic demand and that between 40% and 45% of the national surplus is currently allocated to international markets.

Finally, he said that the approval of the law could improve trade conditions for producers and reinforce the competitiveness of Venezuelan coffee abroad, whose export potential he estimated at about 3 million quintals.