So far, major U.S. coffee companies have been able to find enough supply to avoid price increases. B

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We are concerned because vacation packages gatlinburg tn we know coffee rust is already vacation packages gatlinburg tn causing massive amounts of devastation, said Raj Shah, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development. vacation packages gatlinburg tn On Monday, he was expected to announce a $5 million partnership with Texas A M University s World Coffee Research center to try to eliminate the fungus.
But the government isn t doing this just to protect our $4 specialty coffees, as much as Americans love them. The chief concern is about the economic security of these small farms abroad. If farmers vacation packages gatlinburg tn lose their jobs, it increases hunger and poverty in the region vacation packages gatlinburg tn and contributes to violence and drug trafficking.
Washington estimates that production could be down anywhere from 15 percent to 40 percent in coming years, and that those losses could mean as many as 500,000 people could lose their jobs. Though some countries have brought the fungus under control, many of the poorer coffee-producing countries in Latin America don t see the rust problem getting better anytime vacation packages gatlinburg tn soon.
Much of the blander, mass-produced coffee in this country comes from Asia and other regions. Most of the richer, more expensive coffees are from small, high altitude farms in Central America. Because the farms are smaller, farmers there often don t have enough money to buy the fungicides needed or lack the training to plant in ways that could avoid contamination.
The rust, called roya in Spanish, is a fungus that is highly contagious due to airborne vacation packages gatlinburg tn fungal spores. It affects different varieties, but the Arabica beans are especially susceptible. Rainy weather worsens the problem.
So far, major U.S. coffee companies have been able to find enough supply to avoid price increases. But some smaller outfits already have seen higher prices, said Ric Rhinehart of the Specialty Coffee Association of America.
He said some very specialized varieties from a single origin — Guatemalan antigua coffees, for example — have been much harder to source. If the problem continues, he says, some small coffee companies either will raise prices vacation packages gatlinburg tn or use blends that are easier to find, decreasing vacation packages gatlinburg tn the quality of the coffee.
Supporting the farmer s ability to access information, technology and resources allows them to adapt to these uncertainties and ensures the longevity of our industry s supply chain, said Craig Russell, Starbucks Global Coffee executive vice president. Starbucks even bought a Costa Rican farm for research purposes.
USAID intends to work with Texas A M to step up research on rust-resistant coffee varieties and help Latin America better monitor and respond to the fungus. The U.S. already collaborates with some of the coffee companies and other international organizations to finance replanting of different varieties of trees.
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