4th International Meeting of Venezuelan Specialty Coffee 2025
CARACAS, Dec 1 (NNN-TELESUR) — President Nicolás Maduro presented a report on the development of the national coffee sector this Sunday during the closing ceremony of the IV International Meeting of Venezuelan Specialty Coffees 2025, highlighting sustained growth in production, the expansion of exports, and the establishment of new institutions aimed at consolidating the sector as one of the country’s economic engines.
The president reported that *Venezuela produces coffee in twenty states, and that 136 of the 336 municipalities maintain active harvests of high-quality beans. He emphasized that the 2024-2025 harvest registered a 55% growth, a figure he described as “a productive feat” resulting from the coordinated operation of the Economic Engines.
He indicated that this progress has allowed for expanding the international presence of Venezuelan coffee and opening “new frontiers” for its export.
In a highly symbolic ceremony, the President presented the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Cups to the year’s most outstanding coffee producers. First place went to Eloina Useche, who scored 91.54 points with a Geisha variety coffee grown at the Ares de Campo farm in Mérida state. The Silver Cup was awarded to Ricardo Lozada, with 91.03 points for a Geisha produced at the El Recreo farm in Carabobo state, while the Bronze Cup recognized the work of coffee grower Roney Durán.
National and international tasters participated in the evaluation process, highlighting the aromatic complexity, the more than twenty sensory descriptors, and the outstanding cup profile of the award-winning beans. These results demonstrate that Venezuelan coffee has regained its position of excellence in the region.
The Head of State announced that exports have already exceeded 123,000 quintals in 2025, a figure five times higher than the levels of previous years. He also noted that national production reached 250,000 quintals per hectare, supported by more than 60,000 coffee-growing families throughout the country, who, he said, have received technical assistance, loans, and government support programs.
Another key announcement was the creation of the National Coffee University (UNICAFÉ), an institution dedicated exclusively to training, research, and scientific development in the coffee sector. The new university will be located in Boconó, Trujillo state, and its mission will be to professionalize all stages of the production chain, from planting to export. Maduro stated that this university will become “a continental center of reference” for coffee farming.https://t.me/prensapresidencial/27837?embed=1
At the same time, he confirmed that the government is working on reviewing and expanding the planted area, with the goal of establishing 50 million coffee plants by 2026, strengthening the production structure and increasing national and international supply capacity.
The president also highlighted the success of the 18th International Tourism Fair of Venezuela (FITVen) 2025, held in Puerto Cabello, where it was reported that 2,878,000 international tourists had entered the country through October, a 56% increase compared to the previous year. In his view, tourism and coffee are part of a diversified economic strategy that “is already showing visible results in production, exports, and domestic economic growth.”
With the closing of the International Specialty Coffee Meeting, the government reaffirms its objective of consolidating Venezuela as a world-class producer, supported by an expanding coffee supply chain, a growing global market, and an academic platform that will seek to further enhance the quality of Venezuelan coffee beans. — NNN-TELESUR
