Bananas, coffee and palm oil: The trade of agricultural commodities in the framework of the EU-Colombia free trade agreement.

Generally, research and studies about commodities focus on price trends, analysis in terms of international competitiveness, market position structure, rate of net exports, market share, and concentration index. This paper has developed an analysis of the most influential agricultural commodities traded from Colombia to European Union, which are bananas, coffee, and palm oil. Analyzing the economic and commercial effects in two traditional agricultural commodities from Colombia (bananas and coffee) with the rise of palm oil as a commodity in the trade relation with its partner; the European Union. The structure draws from the overview of general aspects and the behavior of Colombian foreign trade, as diversification of export products and trade partners, to focus on the characteristics of the trade relationship between the European Union and Colombia. The aim is analyze the proportional relation between bananas, coffee, and palm oil exported to the EU, according to three indicators, the volume of production, exports share, and trade value, from 2008 until 2019, identifying the trends before and after the implementation of the free trade agreement. Finally, with the coefficient correlation, determine the agricultural commodity that has the strongest and positive relationship with the total agricultural exports value from Colombia to the European Union.

Epidemics and the future of coffee production.

In this perspective, we draw on recent scientific research on the coffee leaf rust (CLR) epidemic that severely impacted several countries across Latin America and the Caribbean over the last decade, to explore how the socioeconomic impacts from COVID-19 could lead to the reemergence of another rust epidemic. We describe how past CLR outbreaks have been linked to reduced crop care and investment in coffee farms, as evidenced in the years following the 2008 global financial crisis. We discuss relationships between CLR incidence, farmer-scale agricultural practices, and economic signals transferred through global and local effects. We contextualize how current COVID-19 impacts on labor, unemployment, stay-at-home orders, and international border policies could affect farmer investments in coffee plants and in turn create conditions favorable for future shocks. We conclude by arguing that COVID-19's socioeconomic disruptions are likely to drive the coffee industry into another severe production crisis. While this argument illustrates the vulnerabilities that come from a globalized coffee system, it also highlights the necessity of ensuring the well-being of all. By increasing investments in coffee institutions and paying smallholders more, we can create a fairer and healthier system that is more resilient to future social-ecological shocks.

Influence of expectations on the level of liking of a local coffee in Mexico.

BACKGROUND: In Mexico, coffee activity is mainly carried out in indigenous zones, involving almost one million people. However, local national coffee consumption is low. This article focuses on the analysis of the effect of consumers' expectations as well as some sociodemographic characteristics on the level of liking of Mexican local coffee. Four coffees from three indigenous zones of Hidalgo, Mexico were evaluated using a nine-point hedonic scale. The samples were evaluated under three conditions: (i) blind, no information given to the consumer; (ii) expected, only information given to the consumer; and (iii) informed, giving information and product to the consumer. RESULTS: The difference observed between expected and blind condition was significant (P < 0.005) for the three local coffees evaluated, indicating a negative disconfirmation. The local coffees were less appreciated than expected, since the information about the samples created high hedonic expectations among the consumers. The level of education and the place of residence of consumers had a significant influence on their level of liking. Based on demographic characteristics, three segments were found presenting a different pattern of liking. CONCLUSIONS: Consumers had positive expectations towards the local coffee. The sociodemographic characteristics and aspects related to consumption, particularly the experience with the product, are decisive in the expectations concerning the local product. This investigation can be useful to generate marketing strategies according to the demands and needs of the market, making local products to be valued. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Contents of key bioactive and detrimental compounds in health performance coffees compared to conventional types of coffees sold in the United States market.

The United States is the largest coffee consuming country worldwide. Recently, in addition to cup quality, the focus on health promotion has increased significantly in the country, with launching of many brands with health claims, mainly highlighting the antioxidative and stimulating properties of the beverage. On the other hand, mycotoxins and, to a lesser extent, acrylamide, have raised concerns among consumers and health authorities. This study investigated the contents of the main bioactive compounds (caffeine, chlorogenic acids and their 1,5-γ-quinolactones, and trigonelline) in health performance coffees and compared them to those of conventional roasted coffees available on the U.S. market. The following categories were compared by ANOVA at p ≤ 0.05, followed by Fisher's test: 1 - health performance, 2 - gourmet and 3 - traditional, totaling 127 samples. As complementary results, the contents of acrylamide and ochratoxin A were evaluated in part of the samples (n = 58). The mean contents (g per 100 g) of bioactive compounds for categories 1 to 3, respectively, were 1.09, 1.11 and 1.07 for caffeine; 1.75, 1.88 and 1.34 for chlorogenic acids/lactones, and 0.63, 0.64 and 0.56 for trigonelline. The mean contents (µg kg-1) of acrylamide for categories 1 to 3, respectively, were 82, 71 and 85. Only about 7% of the evaluated samples presented quantifiable amounts of OTA and all of them were within the maximum limits established by health authorities. In general, the contents of bioactive and potentially harmful compounds were not consistently different among categories, with high and low individual amounts in all of them. Most health claims on labels related to the amount of bioactive compounds in health performance coffees were unjustified, suggesting the need for improvement in coffee labeling regulation in the U.S.

Identification of Colombian coffee price dynamics.

The daily Colombian coffee price is a chaotic signal that has emerged from a complex economic system. This work proposes to identify its dynamics by means of two models: a single multiscroll Chua system and the coupling of two of these systems. Models are fine-tuned through an artificial bee colony optimization algorithm. Results show that this approach can reconstruct the price signal in terms of several statistics and points out a way for its long-term forecasting.

Determination of Total Chlorogenic Acids in Commercial Green Coffee Extracts.

Obesity and type II diabetes are serious health problems and are among the leading causes of death. There are a few prescription weight loss drugs, but they have a high cost and their adverse effects have limited their widespread use. For the consumer, the use of dietary supplements represents a natural and presumably safer means of losing weight. A high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed to provide a simple, inexpensive method for analysis of 54 commercially available extracts of green coffee beans. Both chlorogenic acids (CGAs), which are the purported bioactives, and caffeine were measured using 5-chloroquinic acid as the standard and published extinction coefficients for the other monomeric and dimeric CGAs present. The average labeled dose of CGA was 233 mg, whereas the average calculated by HPLC analysis was only 157 mg. Thus, the consumer is likely to obtain product containing a little more than half of the reported label amount of CGA. Caffeine levels ranged from 0% to 17%. The marketing literature touts 50% CGA content as being the gold standard of green coffee bean extract products. Based on this value, only 28% of the commercial products we studied met this goal.

Coffee consumption and purchasing behavior review: Insights for further research.

This paper presents a systematic literature review of consumer research towards coffee with the objective to identify and categorize motives, preferences and attributes of coffee consumption and purchasing behavior. Research papers were analyzed in terms of main characteristics and components (study type, research methodology, sampling, and product type). The review gives a systematic overview of the heterogeneous group of concepts and approaches that have been used so far to examine consumer behavior towards coffee. Results provide a model of key determinants for coffee consumption that can be grouped into the categories, (1) personal preferences, (2) economic attributes, (3) product attributes, (4) context of consumption, and (5) socio-demographics. The findings also show that there is a strong focus on coffee sustainability.

Furan Levels and Sensory Profiles of Commercial Coffee Products Under Various Handling Conditions.

In this study, the levels of furan in coffee with consideration towards common coffee consumption was investigated. The concentration of furan in brewed coffee was the highest among the coffee types studied, with an average of 110.73 ng/mL, followed by canned coffee (28.08 ng/mL) and instant coffee (8.55 ng/mL). In instant and brewed coffee, the furan levels decreased by up to an average of 20% and 22%, after 5 min of pouring in a cup without a lid. The degree of reduction was greater when coffee was served without a lid, regardless of coffee type (P < 0.05). In canned coffee, the level of furan decreased by an average of 14% after storage at 60 °C without a lid, and the degree of furan reduction in coffee was greater in coffee served warm (60 °C) than in coffee served cold (4 °C). A time-dependent intensities of sensory attributes in commercial coffees with various handling condition were different (P < 0.05), suggesting that coffee kept in a cup with lid closed, holds the aroma of coffee longer than coffee in a cup without a lid. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Consumption of coffee has increased rapidly in Korea over the past few years. Consequently, the probability of exposure to chemical hazards presence in coffee products increases. Furan is a heterocyclic compound, formed mainly from Maillard reaction, therefore present in coffee products. This work demonstrated the strategy to reduce the levels of furan in coffee products at individual consumer level, by investigating the levels of furan served in common handling scenarios of coffee in Korea: canned coffee, instant coffee, and brewed coffee. Findings of this study can practically guide industry, government, and consumer agencies to reduce the risk exposure to furan during coffee consumptions.

Coupling of pollination services and coffee suitability under climate change.

Climate change will cause geographic range shifts for pollinators and major crops, with global implications for food security and rural livelihoods. However, little is known about the potential for coupled impacts of climate change on pollinators and crops. Coffee production exemplifies this issue, because large losses in areas suitable for coffee production have been projected due to climate change and because coffee production is dependent on bee pollination. We modeled the potential distributions of coffee and coffee pollinators under current and future climates in Latin America to understand whether future coffee-suitable areas will also be suitable for pollinators. Our results suggest that coffee-suitable areas will be reduced 73-88% by 2050 across warming scenarios, a decline 46-76% greater than estimated by global assessments. Mean bee richness will decline 8-18% within future coffee-suitable areas, but all are predicted to contain at least 5 bee species, and 46-59% of future coffee-suitable areas will contain 10 or more species. In our models, coffee suitability and bee richness each increase (i.e., positive coupling) in 10-22% of future coffee-suitable areas. Diminished coffee suitability and bee richness (i.e., negative coupling), however, occur in 34-51% of other areas. Finally, in 31-33% of the future coffee distribution areas, bee richness decreases and coffee suitability increases. Assessing coupled effects of climate change on crop suitability and pollination can help target appropriate management practices, including forest conservation, shade adjustment, crop rotation, or status quo, in different regions.

Paisaje, esclavitud y medio ambiente en la economía cafetalera brasileña: Vale do Paraiba, siglo XIX / Landscape, slavery and environment in the brazilian coffee economy: Vale do Paraiba, XIXth. century

El artículo analiza las estrategias de administración del paisaje y del trabajo adoptadas en las plantaciones esclavistas del Valle de Paraíba a lo largo del siglo XIX. Sostiene que la presencia masiva de la población africana esclavizada, en un contexto local y global muy turbulento, marcado por la competencia entre los diferentes productores mundiales para el control de este artículo y por la intensificación de la resistencia esclava, condujo a la adopción, por los propietarios esclavistas, de las formas de administración del paisaje en sus haciendas que buscaron restringir la autonomía de los esclavos en el proceso de trabajo y, al mismo tiempo, explotar al máximo su capacidad de trabajo. El resultado de estas formas de administración del paisaje y del trabajo fue un proceso de devastación ambiental sin precedentes. En el momento de la crisis de la esclavitud en la década de 1880, estos patrones históricos se volvieron contra los propios esclavistas, que sin embargo lograron mantener el dominio sobre la tierra por medio de una reconfiguración específica de las formas de explotación agraria (AU)

The article analyses the landscape and labor management devices adopted in the nineteenth-century Paraiba Valley slave coffee plantations. It argues that the presence of an enormous mass of enslaved Africans in a turbulent local and global conjuncture framed by world competition between different coffee producers and increasing slave resistance led planters to adopt measures of landscape management that closely restricted slave autonomy in the labor process as they tried to extract the maxim amount of labor from the slaves. The outcome of these forms of landscape and labor management was a process of unprecedented environmental devastation. At the time of slavery crisis in the 1880s, these historical patterns turned against slaveholders, who however managed to maintain dominion over the land by means of a specific reconfiguration of the forms of agronomic exploitation (AU)

Furanic compounds and furfural in different coffee products by headspace liquid-phase micro-extraction followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry: survey and effect of brewing procedures.

In this study, the levels of furan, 2-methylfuran, 2,5-dimethylfuran, vinyl furan, 2-methoxymethyl-furan and furfural in different coffee products were evaluated. Simultaneous determination of these six furanic compounds was performed by a head space liquid-phase micro-extraction (HS-LPME) method. A total of 67 coffee powder samples were analysed. The effects of boiling and espresso-making procedures on the levels of furanic compounds were investigated. The results showed that different types of coffee samples contained different concentrations of furanic compounds, due to the various processing conditions such as temperature, degree of roasting and fineness of grind. Among the different coffee samples, the highest level of furan (6320 µg kg⁻¹) was detected in ground coffee, while coffee-mix samples showed the lowest furan concentration (10 µg kg⁻¹). Levels in brewed coffees indicated that, except for furfural, brewing by an espresso machine caused significant loss of furanic compounds.

Coffee and chocolate in danger.

As a rapidly growing global consumer base appreciates the pleasures of coffee and chocolate and health warnings are being replaced by more encouraging sounds from medical experts, their supply is under threat from climate change, pests and financial problems. Coffee farmers in Central America, in particular, are highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change, made worse by financial insecurity. Michael Gross reports.

Quantification of caffeine, trigonelline and nicotinic acid in espresso coffee: the influence of espresso machines and coffee cultivars.

Caffeine, trigonelline and nicotinic acid are important bioactive constituents of coffee. In this work, the combination of different water temperatures and pressures in the settings of the espresso coffee (EC) machine was evaluated, to assess how these factors influence how effectively caffeine, trigonelline and nicotinic acid are extracted from both Arabica and Robusta samples. The proposed analytical method, based on a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system coupled to a variable wavelength detector (VWD), showed good linearity (R²> 0.9985) and good recoveries (71-92%); after validation for three monitored compounds, the method was used to analyze 20 commercial samples. The combination of a temperature of 92 °C and pressure at 7 or 9 bar seems to be the ideal setting for the most efficient extraction of these compounds and consequently for their intake; the compound extracted in the greatest quantity was caffeine, which was in the range of 116.87-199.68 mg in a 25 ml cup of coffee.

Fast method of elements determination in slim coffees by ICP OES.

Six sample preparation procedures, i.e., the total decomposition in a HNO3 and H2O2 mixture by microwave-assisted or hot-plate heating, a partial decomposition by means of solubilisation in aqua regia or tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide and simple dissolution in diluted HNO3 or in H2O, for the determination of the total content of Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, P, Pb, Sr and Zn in slim instant coffees using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry were compared. The performance of procedures was determined based on the precision and the accuracy of results and limits of detection of elements. It was found that the extraction with aqua regia provides the best results, i.e., limits of detection of elements within 0.11-108ngmL(-1), the precision of 0.6-5% and the accuracy better than 5%. Elements' concentrations agree with those after the wet digestion in the HNO3 and H2O2 mixture, therefore this procedure is a simple and fast alternative to complete sample decomposition procedures and can be easily applied for routine analyses. Six commercial slim coffee products were analysed with the proposed procedure.

O pós-abolição e suas dinâmicas de sociabilidade: lógicas familiares e relações interpessoais no oeste paulista cafeeiro / The post-abolition period in Brazil and its dynamics of sociability: family logic and interpersonal relationships in western São Paulo State coffee-producing regions / La post abolición y sus dinámicas de sociabilidad: lógicas familiares y relaciones interpersonales en el oeste cafetalero de São Paulo

Tomando como foco o município de São Carlos, um dos principais centros da economia cafeeira do oeste paulista durante a virada do século XIX para o XX, o artigo analisa as tensões presentes nas relações interpessoais tecidas entre negros, de um lado, e fazendeiros e pequenos proprietários rurais, de outro. Por meio da leitura de dois inquéritos policiais da época, percebeu-se que essas relações eram mediadas por determinados códigos morais, os quais, por sua vez, delimitavam certas normas de sociabilidade. Quando alguns destes códigos eram quebrados, as situações de conflito se potencializavam. Pode-se afirmar que, se a proximidade com pessoas de posse ainda era, para a população negra do pós-abolição, uma das principais fontes para obtenção de recursos materiais e simbólicos, as relações de poder inscritas nesses vínculos não deixavam de produzir contestações quanto às identificações e hierarquias encerradas no âmbito familiar. De modo geral, acredita-se que as disputas de poder presentes nessas interações podem estar relacionadas à renegociação, trazida pelo fim do escravismo, de determinadas formas de distinção social.

Taking as its focus the municipality of São Carlos, one of the main centers of the coffee economy in the West of the State of São Paulo in the late 18th and earlier 19th centuries, this paper examines tensions present in interpersonal relationships between black individuals, on the one side, and plantation owners and small landowners, on the other. By analyzing the documents of two police investigations of the time, it was seen that these relationships were mediated by moral codes which, in turn, determined certain rules of sociability. When these codes were violated, situations of conflict arose. It can be argued that, although, after abolition, proximity to wealthy persons was a major source of material and symbolic resources for the black population, the power relations underlying these relationships nonetheless produced identifications and hierarchies enclosed within family circles. In general, it is believed that the power struggles in those interactions may be related to the renegotiation of certain forms of social differences in the wake of the end of slavery.

Con foco en el municipio de São Carlos, uno de los principales centros de la economía cafetalera del oeste paulista desde fines del siglo XIX hasta el XX, el artículo analiza las tensiones presentes en las relaciones interpersonales tejidas entre los negros, por un lado, y los hacendados y pequeños propietarios rurales por otro. Por medio de la lectura de dos investigaciones policiales de la época, se puso de manifiesto que esas relaciones eran mediadas por determinados códigos morales que, a su vez, delimitaban determinadas normas de sociabilidad. Cuando se rompían algunos de estos códigos, las situaciones de conflicto se potenciaban. Se puede afirmar que, si la proximidad con personas pudientes todavía era, para la población negra del periodo post abolición, una de las principales fuentes para obtener recursos materiales y simbólicos, las relaciones de poder presentes en estos vínculos no dejaban de producir polémicas en lo que se refiere a las identificaciones y jerarquías del ámbito familiar. En general, se cree que las disputas de poder presentes en dichas interacciones pueden estar relacionadas a la renegociación, ocasionada por el fin de la esclavitud, de determinadas formas de distinción social.

"Coffee Stands": a vocational rehabilitation project in the community for people coping with mental disorders.

OBJECTIVES: The "Coffee Stands" project was developed to provide a work place where individuals with long term mental illness can receive job training within the community. It is similar to a supported employment program, except that it does not provide individual job placement services. The objective of the study was to describe the participants who worked at the "coffee stands", with respect to their participation in occupations, functional cognition, executive functions and awareness, perception of their quality of life (QoL), satisfaction and self esteem. Moreover, the study aimed at examining whether changes occurred in these variables during the 6-month period in which participants worked at the coffee stands. METHODS: Participants included 44 people with chronic mental illness; 27 men and 17 women, mean age 43.43 (SD = 9.02); mean years of education 11.81 (SD = 1.83); mean age of illness onset 27.72 (SD = 11.12) and mean number of hospitalizations 3.27 (SD = 2.64). All signed an informed consent to participate in the study. A battery of eight instruments measuring the various variables was administered at two points in time; at the beginning of the work at the coffee stands and 6 months later. RESULTS: Indicated that the training was successful and that participants were able to maintain an average 3 hours of work daily, demonstrating an improvement in their perception of their ability to work. In the area of planning, they needed structure, suggesting some difficulties in executive functions, but they seemed to be aware of their difficulties. After 6 months, participants showed improvements in health related measures of QoL and satisfaction, but not in self esteem. CONCLUSIONS: The findings strengthen the premise that people coping with an emotional disorder place great importance on working, are able to work and derive satisfaction from their work.

Padrões de nupcialidade na economia cafeeira de São Paulo (1860-1930) / Marriage patterns in São Paulo coffee economy (1860-1930) / /Patrones de nupcialidad en la economía cafetera de Sao Paulo (1860-1930)

O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar e discutir as pautas matrimoniais vigentes em um município típico da economia cafeeira paulista, entre 1860 e 1930, tomando tal variável como indicador do vigor da identidade étnica e do grau de assimilação dos estrangeiros na sociedade local. São Carlos foi fundado em 1857 e conformou-se, a partir da penúltima década do século XIX, como um município bastante representativo da economia cafeeira que se desenvolveu no Estado. De fato, com uma mão de obra inicialmente composta por escravos negros, a partir dos anos 1880 o município passou a receber expressivas levas de imigrantes europeus - italianos, portugueses, espanhóis e outros numericamente menos significativos - para trabalhar nas plantações de café, a ponto de, em 1894, ter recebido o maior contingente de imigrantes de todo o interior paulista. A partir de uma análise dos 15.011 registros paroquiais de casamento observados no período, o trabalho discute a evolução das preferências matrimoniais desses diversos grupos que, ao lado de brasileiros brancos e negros, conformaram uma população estimada em 60 mil indivíduos em 1930. Os dados analisados indicam que a origem nacional atuou como condicionante muito significativo das opções matrimoniais efetivamente concretizadas até pelo menos final dos anos 1920. Assim, as evidências colhidas apontam que pelo menos as primeiras duas gerações de indivíduos de origem imigrante, que viveram em São Carlos até a Grande Depressão do final da década de 1920, mostraram-se bastante resistentes ao processo de assimilação, pelo menos sob o ângulo das pautas matrimoniais.

This paper discusses marriage patterns in a representative city in the state of São Paulo during the coffee economy of 1860-1930. It takes these patterns as indicators of the strength of ethnic identities and of the assimilation of European immigrants in the local society. The city of São Carlos was founded in 1857 and by the late 19th century, it can be seen as fairly typical of the coffee economy that developed in the state of São Paulo. In fact, with a workforce initially composed of African slaves, from the 1880s the city began to receive significant waves of European immigrants - Italians, Portuguese, Spanish and other less numerically significant - for work on coffee plantations, to the point that, in the year of 1894, it received the highest number of immigrants in all of the state, except for the capital. From an analysis of 15,011 parish registers of marriage observed in the period, this paper discusses the evolution of marriage preferences among diverse groups that, alongside black and white Brazilians, conformed an estimated population of 60,000 individuals in 1930. The data analyzed indicate that national origin served as very significant determinant of marital options effectively implemented until at least the late 1920s. Thus, the evidence gathered indicates that at least the first two generations of persons of immigrant origins, living in São Carlos until the Great Depression in the late 1920s, were quite resistant to the process of assimilation, at least in regards to marriage patterns.

El objetivo de este trabajo es presentar y discutir las pautas matrimoniales vigentes en un municipio típico de la economía cafetera paulista, entre 1860 y 1930, tomando tal variable como un indicador del vigor de la identidad étnica y del grado de asimilación de los extranjeros en la sociedad local. San Carlos fue fundado en 1857 y se convirtió, a partir de la penúltima década del siglo XIX, en un municipio bastante representativo de la economía cafetera que se desarrolló en el estado de Sao Paulo. De hecho, con una mano de obra inicialmente compuesta por esclavos negros, a partir del año 1880 y en adelante, el municipio pasó a recibir ingentes masas de inmigrantes europeos - italianos, portugueses, españoles y otros numéricamente menos significativos- para trabajar en las plantaciones de café, hasta el punto de que, en 1894, había recibido el mayor contingente de inmigrantes de todo el interior del estado de Sao Paulo. A partir de un análisis de los 15.011 registros parroquiales de matrimonio observados en el período, el trabajo discute la evolución de las preferencias matrimoniales de esos diversos grupos que, junto a los brasileños blancos y negros, conformaron una población estimada en 60 mil individuos en 1930. Los datos analizados indican que el origen nacional actuó como un condicionante muy significativo en las opciones matrimoniales, efectivamente consumadas en matrimonios, hasta por lo menos final de los años veinte del siglo pasado. Así pues, las evidencias recogidas apuntan a que por lo menos las primeras dos generaciones de individuos de origen inmigrante, que vivieron en San Carlos hasta la Gran Depresión del final de la década de 1920, se mostraron bastante resistentes al proceso de asimilación, por lo menos bajo el ángulo de las pautas matrimoniales.