The first Coffee Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) was held in the Honduran capital with the physical and virtual participation of representatives of the 33 member countries of the regional bloc.
The Deputy Foreign Minister of Honduras, Gerardo Torres, said that it is an honor for his country to host this two-day event, which was also be attended by the Director General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Qu Dongyu, and the Executive Director of the International Coffee Organization (ICO), Vanusia Nogueira.
"It is an honor for us to host this event of great magnitude and that Honduras is also one of the main producers of coffee worldwide, in addition, to have the privilege of receiving outstanding leaders and experts in the coffee industry," he said.
According to Torres, this is the first event organized by Celac on a specific product.
According to an article published in the web portal of the Foreign Ministry, during the summit the best coffee beans in the world were exhibited and tasted, and opportunities were provided to establish commercial alliances to explore the development of the coffee sector in the region.
The Vice-Minister of Coffee Growing of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Carlos Murillo, in a press conference about the event, highlighted that Honduras is among the Latin American nations that export more than 60 percent of the coffee consumed in the world.
Official figures indicate that coffee represents for this country more than five percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), and the territory is currently positioned as the fifth largest producer worldwide.
In Latin America, 14 million people are linked to coffee growing, a sector that represents income of more than 1.3 billion dollars and contributes significantly to the region's economic growth.
The first Celac Coffee Summit has as its theme "Agriculture and Family Economy for Regional Development", and will be held within the framework of the pro tempore presidency of the mechanism held by Honduras.
