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Colombian Coffee Growers Convoke Marches for Today to Protest Against Shortlists For Head Coffee Growers Federation

By: Diana Delgado, Contractor

 

Colombian Coffee Growers Convoke Marches for Today to Protest Against Shortlists For Head Coffee Growers Federation
 
Diana Delgado 
Latin American correspondent
diana.delgado@stonex.com

Colombian Coffee Growers Convoke Marches for Today to Protest Against Shortlists For Head Coffee Growers Federation

Bogota (CoffeeNetwork )- Coffee growers throughout the majority of coffee-producing departments are convoking marches for today against the shortlist of candidates to head for the coffee growers federation, claiming that none of the candidates represent them.

Meanwhile, Coffee Dignity, a group that advocates for the well-being of growers requested president Gustavo Petro to intervene by convoking a new meeting to select a new list as none of the three candidates represent them.

“The way of electing the three shortlisted candidates, the profile defined, the violation of status, the illegal procedure of the ministry and the submission of some representatives of coffee growers, allow us to think that the shortlisted candidates, do not represent the majority of coffee growers,” Coffee Dignity said.

News station Caracol TV said President Gustavo Petro is not happy with the three shortlisted candidates.  Coffee Network could not confirm this information.

Petro does not like Sandra Morelli, who faced legal investigations in the past, although she was exonerated from the charges. Germán Alberto Bahamón, the current general manager of Apple in Colombia supported the opposition party Cambio Radical in the past.  The government seems to support Santiago Pardo, but he does not have support among coffee committees, Caracol said.

If the President does not intervene in the shortlist, FNC will hold an extraordinary meeting on 27 April to choose the new manager of FNC

Coffee producing department, whose production is higher than 9% of the country’s total output will have six votes during the polling session. Departments with coffee output below 3 and 9% will have three votes, and those below 3% of output will have two votes.

Between 27 March and 14 April, the candidates will present their proposals and programs to the 15 coffee committees.

But officials at coffee committees are saying that they will likely vote in blank or abstain from voting as his candidate Felipe Robayo was not included in the list.

Last week, the surprise was the exclusion of former FNC commercial manager Felipe Robayo. Finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo disliked Robayo as he believed Robayo generated division among coffee growers, a source at the ministry of finance told Coffee Network.

 

Profiles

 Former Comptroller General Sandra Morelli was the legal director of the National Federation of Coffee Growers for twelve years.

Lawyer Morelli handled the crisis of the Flota Mercante Gran Colombiana, a marine shipping agency that no longer exists. The Flota Mercante generates 57 billion Colombian pesos ($19 million) in yearly pension liabilities that are covered by FNC.

Morelli calls to expand coffee plantations, strengthen production of Arabica beans, seek new channels of coffee consumption, increase more FNC spending in coffee plantations among others.

Meanwhile, Santiago Pardo was FNC’s representative in Asia in 2011-2019. He is an economist from the Andes University with a master’s degree in international affairs at the Columbia University.

German Alberto Bahamon has held several top management positions in Ecuador, Central American, the Caribbean, Colombia and Mexico working with Apple, Sony Ericsson, Sony Corp., Kimberly Clark and Alqueria. He is currently the general manager of Apple in Colombia. He founded the coffee brand Zuluaga coffee and owns a farm. He is third-generation coffee grower.

Coffee grower and former senator Alejandro Corrales said three candidates meet the requirements to head FNC and they have international experience.

Gustavo Gomez, director of the coffee exporters association, Asoexport said all the candidates are in equal conditions to compete for the post.

Whomever wins will have to face several challenges, Corrales said.

The new FNC manager will face several challenges, including ensuring more government funds to renovate at least 100,000 coffee hectares per year as for the past two years renovation has been half of that amount. Another challenge is trying to stop providing the funds to sustain the pension liability of the Flota Mercante Grancolombiana. Another challenge is designing new mechanisms to ensure fair coffee prices to growers at times of low prices. The coffee stabilization fund today has more than COP300 billion Colombian pesos ($62,5 million), and the new manager may have to use it during times of low coffee prices. Another challenge is improving the finances of coffee cooperatives, hit by breaches of coffee deliveries in future contracts.   to improve the livelihood of coffee growers.

By Diana Delgado

  • Coffee

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