For Brazil co-op, price of first carbon-neutral coffee is sweet
According to company officials, a Brazilian coffee cooperative received a price premium on its first sale of carbon-neutral arabica coffee that was nearly double what a product certified as sustainable but not carbon-neutral would achieve.
monteCCer, a Brazilian coffee cooperative, sold 300 60-kg bags of coffee through coffee trader Volcafe with the final destination of Japan for approximately 100 reais ($17.89) more per bag than it would receive selling regular certified coffee.
Regis Damasio Salles, a director at monteCCer, stated that five additional transactions were nearing completion with similar price increases. Among the interested buyers is a large coffee retailer in the United States, which he did not name.
Due to the perennial nature of coffee plants, coffee plantations act as carbon sinks, removing carbon dioxide from the air.
In the monteCCer-developed project, a group of farmers used techniques to further reduce emissions, resulting in a harvest that is carbon neutral or even negative.
The techniques included more efficient fertiliser application, particularly nitrogen-based fertilisers, the use of biological products rather than chemicals, and reduced energy and water consumption through advanced irrigation techniques such as underground dripping systems.
