COFFEE PRODUCTION IN MEXICO: AN APPROACH THROUGH FOOD REGIMES
Abstract
Distinctive food regimes have evolved as from the end of 19th century. This scheme has
been originally propounded by Friedmann and McMichael. The present article resorts
to this conceptualization in order to examine the evolution of coffee focusing in Mexico.
The first regime goes back to 1870. Due to foreign demand alongside the expansion of
railroads, this perennial crop spread out in areas which at present persist. A second food
regime starting around 1950, witness public institutions encouraging output expansion
alongside market regulation. In the international scene, coffee producers and importing
countries set up coffee agreements towards price stabilization. During the third food
regime, established during the 1980s, a return to unrestrained market forces takes
place. Local marketing agencies disappear, while multilateral agreements break down.
In Mexico, the current institutional environment continues to prove unsuccessful to
pull out this sector from its doldrums. Through organic coffee and fair trade, a fraction
of producers has managed to differentiate their product. Beyond each food regime,
common features of coffee production are identified. Small and isolated producers
placed vis-a-vis a contingent of middlemen on behalf of local enterprises, exporting
companies or importers themselves, managing the whole chain, predominates. Largeindirect taxes throughout the import chain and periods of currency overvaluation by
exporting countries continue to take place.
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