Piedra De Candela, April 20 - Panama's burgeoning boutique coffee industry is set to get a boost with the opening of a new processing plant aimed at increasing exports of the country's top-quality brew.
Specialty coffee farmers and international buyers gathered in remote Panamanian highlands near the Costa Rican border on Saturday to open the mill, which is capable of producing up to 20,000 hundred-pound bags of coffee per season.
Panama's coffee output is small compared to neighboring countries, but its high-end beans are among the world's most sought after. The premium high-grown Geisha variety has fetched over 140 dollars a pound in online auctions.
Guillermo de Saint Malo Eleta, CEO of the plant's owner Grupo Eleta, said the new facility would act as a hub for small-scale farmers in the region.
"Our estate (Cafe de Eleta) will provide most of the cherries and the rest will be other small farms around. It makes no sense for each farm to have its own processing facilities," he said.
The mill, which will produce 10,000 bags per year in the first years of operation, has the equipment to process washed, semi-washed and unwashed coffee. It will process different types of bean separately for optimal quality.
"Mass consumption does not have to mean mass production," said de Saint Malo Eleta.
Carlos Aguilera, president of Panama's Specialty Coffee Association, said the plant would be a major boost for the gourmet coffee sector.
"It is very important because it will be focused on exports," he said. "Small producers will feel more confident that they have a buyer for their cherries."