After the election of Germán Bahamón as the new manager of the Federation of Coffee Growers, it was no secret to anyone the tensions that are generated between the union and the Government.
“We want to review how the Fund is working, what is happening with the futures contracts that have not been fulfilled.”
In an interview with Yamid Amat, the Minister of Finance, Ricardo Bonilla, gave no indication that relations were improving, as he insisted that from the Government wants to review the Coffee Fund.
“We want to review how the Fund is working, what is happening with the futures contracts that have not been fulfilled. The Federation should have received about 56.7 million kilos of coffee in futures contracts and has only received 5.9 million, or sea, 10%. And most cooperatives have difficulties. And we want to review what is the liability of the merchant fleet”, says the minister about the issues they want to discuss with the union.
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The Fund is the neuralgic point of relations, because during the election, President Gustavo Petro insisted that “as I am responsible for the public money of the National Coffee Fund” they take into account candidates close to his government.
And in that sense, the Executive seeks to review the Fund with all the actors, not only with the Federation, which is the one that currently manages the Fund. “It is absolutely necessary that we can with all the players in the sector. We are not going to take away the resources of the Fund Federation. What we want is to organize, to see how the chain works in Colombia”, added Bonilla.
On tensions and relationships, The minister insisted that there are no confrontations, only that “we want to strengthen the institutional framework. The Federation is an actor, but the exporters are other actors, the coffee processors are other actors and the cooperatives are other actors”.
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Germán Bahamón, new manager of the National Federation of Coffee Growers.
Mauricio Moreno. TIME
The insistence on joining the conversation about the Fund to other actors, Bonilla said, does not mean that they will participate in its management. “It means that we cannot only with one actor and forget the others. It is not about Mr. Bahamon. This is a process that comes from behind. Private exporters have been gaining space. The cooperatives have existed for a long time, but today they have difficulties and there are some broken ones. What we are looking for is to strengthen the institutional framework!”, he reiterated.
As for Germán Bahamón, he said that the government does not seek to change him, but to review his management and “know well and organize the coffee chain.”
Read the full interview with Minister Bonilla, in which he also addressed issues such as the dollar, streaming platforms, tax reform, and credit interest rates.
