Honduran Clients Win Top Honors

Two Fintrac clients in Honduras were recent recipients of awards recognizing their achievements in product quality and export contributions. Gregorio Martinez, a small high-altitude coffee farmer, won the first ever Honduran "Cup of Excellence®" specialty coffee competition. The President of Honduras bestowed the highly coveted "Exporter of the Year" award on yucca/plantain processor Inalma.

Gregorio Martinez, Small Coffee Producer

Fintrac Coffee Specialist Efrain Murillo and a select group of top-class experts have been providing technical assistance to Honduran coffee growers and association counterparts to improve their cupping and roasting procedures. Efrain was impressed with Gregorio Martinez on his first visit to the farm. "I knew he had the potential to become a first rate grower just by seeing how he paid such careful attention to his coffee plantation," said Mr. Murillo. With technical assistance from Fintrac, Mr. Martinez improved his coffee washing and drying activities, and learned cupping techniques in order to self-test coffee quality.

Mr. Martinez's coffee earned the highest score on record for any "Cup of Excellence®" competition, with an unprecedented six judges awarding perfect scores. As a result, he sold ten bags of his coffee at an incredible $13.00 per pound to a Japanese buyer.

Inalma, Processor and Exporter

Inalma's exports declined 72 percent as a result of Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The company began receiving technical support from the USAID funded Fintrac/CDA project in 2000, assisting Inalma not only with rehabilitation but with expansion of its operations and markets. With assistance from Fintrac Processing Manager Ricardo Pineda, Inalma designed a new ripening room, improved its plant lay-out, implemented a HACCP plan, and expanded buyer linkages. Fintrac agronomists also worked with 115 local producers on improved varieties and cultural practices to ensure better quality raw material supply.

Inalma reported over $3 million in regional and North American sales last year, and the company expects to increase its exports in 2004 by a further 30 percent. With assistance from Fintrac, management is exploring new opportunities in the European market. Eight new products are currently being tested with the hopes of adding them to the Inalma line.