Oportunidades, desafios e tendências da comercialização do café padrão comercial na região da Zona da Mata de Minas Gerais

Abstract

The recent literature on coffee growing in Brazil has shown the coffee qualification process as a new market trend, mainly for specialty and high quality coffees. The production of this type of coffee is differentiated and it is not always affordable, feasible or interesting for producers. The coffee growing is significantly important in the Zona da Mata region of Minas Gerais, mainly in microregions as Manhuaçu, Muriaé and Viçosa. All new trend in this activity impacts the producers who are mostly family farmers. In this context, asking how the coffee growing develops, how it is related withspecialty coffees and what trends the market can present to the region are important questions to a scientific investigation. In this sense, a research of case study was developed, with field survey composed by interviews, observations, bibliographical and documental search. The evidences analysis were performed from the point of view of the New Institutional Economics, of the New Economic Sociology and Agribusiness Systems. In conclusion, we found that qualified coffee is produced with excellence within the region, although by a small proportion of producers. Most of the production is commercial coffee, in the following categories: Soft, Hard, River and Riada. On one hand, this segmentation is a consequence of the family farming flexibility, and on the other hand, it is an assured source of income. However, it is necessary to pay attention to the market trends that show, despite no signs of exhaustion on the demand for those categories of coffee, signs of an increasing on the preference for products with social and environmental good practices certifications.