Differentiated markets in coffee organizations in the center of Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract

Mexico is among the top ten coffee producers and Veracruz ranks second nationally. Since the end of the 20th century there has been a crisis derived from the liberation of the international market, overproduction, and low prices. In Mexico, it translates into privatization policies that have a negative impact on the coffee growing regions. Some coffee growers have been able to keep venturing into differentiated markets that give a premium to the product. The objective was to identify the problems and challenges faced by eight organizations to commercialize coffee in differentiated markets. A semi-structured interview was applied to the leaders and the data were analyzed qualitatively. The main problems are reduced niches in specialty markets, poor marketing, high export costs and low domestic consumption. The challenges: increase productivity and quality, improve marketing strategies, and promote national consumption.