The conference is a gathering of supply chain partners from coffee-producing nations to discuss pressing issues in the industry, such the onslaught of coffee rust ("roya" in Spanish), a fungus that suffocates coffee trees and lowers bean yields. The event-goers will also discuss the strengthening of business relations and participate in training workshops and cuppings.
Coffee is one of Latin America's major exports, sustaining independent farmers in rural areas as well as corporate bankers in metropolitan areas. But changing climate patterns have exaggerated plagues and droughts in the region, and this has produced less than desirable conditions for coffee production.
