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Researchers in Brazil recently discovered coffee plants that naturally produce virtually decaffeinated beans. These plants, whose beans contain 20 times less caffeine than normal coffee, were found among 3,000 seedlings at the Agronomy Institute of Campinas, brought from Ethiopia to Brazil in 1965. This discovery, which was published in the 24 June issue of the scientific journal Nature, could have a huge impact on the Brazilian coffee industry. If the plants can be developed commercially, Brazil could make greater inroads into the growing, and lucrative, decaffeinated market, which represents 10 percent of coffee consumed in the world. Decaf prices are 25 to 30 percent higher than regular coffee, a difference that could change the lives of coffee growers. Raw coffee prices are hovering at a 30-year low, having declined an average of three percent a year since 1970. Prices no longer cover the cost of production, leading many coffee farmers to abandon their plantations, or cultivate more profitable, but illicit, crops such as coca and khat. This discovery also has positive implications for the world-wide campaign to preserve biodiversity. According to the Maria Bernardete Silvarolla, who led the research team, this discovery shows the “importance of preserving genetic resources”, and is a ”full validation” of the value of maintaining germplasm banks of plants, cuttings and seeds, not only for coffee, but also for all flora and fauna.
For more information on the International Coffee Crisis, see the Oxfam Report “Mugged: Poverty in Your Coffee Cup“.
“Brazil: A Cup of Decaf Coffee? Naturally,” TERRAVIVA EUROPE, 28 June 2004; “Oxfam Urges US to Immediately Rejoin the International Coffee Organization,” OXFAM RELEASE, 24 March 2004.
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