Ethical coffee arrives in China!

Pezo Import AB is a specialty coffee importer based in the port city of Malmo, Sweden. The company has offices in Denmark, Peru, Costa Rica and China. Pezo is a small-scale company that focuses on outsourcing Latin American coffee, supplying superb, freshly harvested raw coffees with environmental and ethical credentials that are second to none. Working directly with businesses, we export, import and safeguard the interests of both sellers and buyers. All our products are certified by independent third-party organizations such as Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance, and EU Organic. This is our guarantee that our coffee operation is being independently audited to guarantee its environmentally and socially sustainable values. These are the values our business is based on and stands for.

Coffee is one of the most widely traded crops in the world today. Over 178 million 60 kg coffee sacks are produced annually, which sustains the 2.25 billion cups of coffee that are enjoyed daily around the globe. Meeting this demand is not an easy task. Over time, farming methods have been developed to maximize production, but this is often at the expense of human welfare and environmental health.

For this reason Pezo focus on certified organic coffee. Our organic farmers use growing methods without toxic fertilizers and pesticides. Organic farms also combat climate change by emitting less carbon than other intensive food industries. Shade grown coffee also preserves habitats for a wealth of other plants and animals. As a bonus, organic coffee beans are richer in healthy antioxidants, and most people can taste the difference. In short, organic coffee benefits the health of both people and planet!

I was born in Peru, and my country is the world’s leading producer of certified Organic coffee. Having moved to Sweden in my early life I found myself in a country that is per capita the world’s second biggest consumer of coffee. Only our neighbours in Finland drink more! Swedes drink an average of 4 cups of strong coffee a day. It is an intrinsic part of our daily routines: a cup in the morning, several at work, and one or two during ‘fika’ time.

As coffee consumption in China has increased, the trend has been towards well-educated coffee consumers who demand not only sumptuous, vibrant flavors, but also want to be sure they are buying coffee from responsible suppliers with strong ethical and environmental values. In the end, we all feel good in the knowledge that our actions and consuming habits are making a positive difference in a world full of negative environmental pressures.

Our sister company in Guangzhou, Guangzhou Pezo Coffee Trading, has recently acquired the Chinese Organic Certification. This means we are now ready to import Chinese certified organic coffee from Larin America into China. Pezo Import AB offers a variety of blends and single origin coffee. We can also develop flavors and blends that are specifically tailored to the needs of our Chinese costumers. We do this while maintaining a competitive, affordable product. Fair trade, responsible and ethical coffee doesn’t have to be more expensive!

Nowadays technology allows business to do most operations online from anywhere in the world. But that’s where Pezo Import AB is different from other coffee traders: we strongly believe in a personalized business model were everyone benefits. We cultivate strong relationships with members of coffee cooperatives, associations, family farms, and local individual coffee producers looking to establish long lasting commercial relations grounded in friendship.

At Pezo Import AB we practice a Direct Trade model which helps us to make sure that the coffee is grown to the highest environmental, sustainable standards and that coffee farmers and workers are paid a fair wage. Through local projects we develop with them, we help them to increase their productivity and quality. In many coffee producing countries, a day's pay for picking coffee beans wouldn't even buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks (in China or Sweden!). By practicing Direct Trade principles for purchasing green coffee, we also improve working conditions in the producing countries and reduce social problems. We ensure that child labour practices do not take place on our partners properties, and by providing a good income for workers, problems such internal and external migration in such of a living wage is avoided.

In the first 3 months of 2023, my team have completed a 7-week trip visiting coffee suppliers in eight countries in Central and South America. Recently we have started partnerships with several large Chinese coffee importers. It was very important for me to personally inspect the coffee quality of our suppliers, to make sure it rises to the high standards our Chinese costumers require. By doing this, we secure the traceability of the coffee before the shipment leaves the country of origin.

Our mission in China is to bring to the market the values we are profoundly dedicated to. This, combined with a delicious cup of coffee, will raise the awareness about ethical values and the environmental care that also intrinsic to the production of a fine cup of coffee. This is not just a fashion statement; caring for the planet is a responsibility for every person living on it. It is our responsibility to future generations. Coffee made with ethics and values means drinking an even tastier coffee. We believe this is a win-win situation. Each coffee bean we sell directly benefits the most vulnerable people in the coffee supply chain: local, hardworking farmers.

With Pezo Imports, every time you enjoy a cup of coffee, you can do so knowing you are benefiting local communities, nature and the health of our planet as a whole.

With my highest respect to the members of Swedish Chamber of Commerce,

Ronald Rengifo Pezo