Depending on who you talk to or read these days, the Peruvian economy is robust, or slowing. While officials remain upbeat & expect economic growth to be close to 5%, they missed the mark by nearly half last year. (see Why the Peruvian Economy Matters to the World) While the continued decline of the Sol vs the USD is supportive of export growth, the fact that 50% of all debt in Peru is denominated in dollars will offset any gains from a lower national currency.
It’s an exciting time for wanna be coffee importers. After successfully overcoming myriad obstacles, Yrma & I managed to get our coffee from the central rainforest of Peru to the Port of Callao in Lima, Peru, then on to Long Beach (where we encountered first hand what happens when there’s a longshoreman work slowdown,) from there to northwest Arizona & to select coffee shops in Kingman, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.
Continue reading Real People, Really Good Coffee (Update February 2015)
Today, the Peruvian Sol fell to its lowest level in nearly 6 years despite Central Bank Intervention.
Via El Comercio (Bing Translator)
Continue reading Peruvian Sol Falls Below 3.08 to the Dollar, Lowest in 6 Years
Back in the US
You may have noticed that it’s been a bit quieter on the site lately. We arrived back in the US late on January 11th, and have been running ever since.
Our coffee had been awaiting our arrival in the warehouse for East Bay Logistics in Rancho Dominguez, California just a few miles east of the Port of Long Beach. After searching for a reasonable LTL (less than truckload) carrier to bring our coffee to us, we ended up going to pick it up ourselves. The lower gas prices certainly helped this time. We were particularly blessed on this trip, as about 10 miles out of Needles. California, going down the steep hill into the Colorado River valley, we lost about a third of the tread on one of the trailer tires. It started to vibrate & we limped it into Needles and to a tire shop. We were surprised to see how bad it was & were grateful for the miracle of the day.
Continue reading Real People, Really Good Coffee (Update January 2015)
This blog post is a shameless promotion of our first import from Peru – Curibamba Specialty Coffee. It does however recap our adventures as we journeyed to the central rainforest of Peru & gives one a glimpse into the journey that your delicious coffee makes to arrive in your cup. Enjoy! (Reposted)
Continue reading Curibamba Coffee (It’s special to be a good coffee bean)
Christmas 2014
Ahhh, 2014 is quickly coming to an end, and once again I wonder what happened to the year. It went by so fast.
Between watching world & financial events with open eyes & shuttling back and forth to Peru, I managed to accomplish a personal first, successfully importing over 3,600 pounds of specialty grade Peruvian coffee from the Chanchamayo region.
Now that really isn’t that much in the coffee world where the goal is to fill containers for shipping, each weighing 42,000 pounds, but for me it was quite an accomplishment to wade through the maze of customs regulations, not only in the US, but in Peru as well. It took quite a bit of time, and the jury is still out on how profitable it will be (if at all.)
It’s a little (actually a lot) of fear to overcome before moving ahead into the unknown. For years I had been thinking that it would be an interesting business, that is providing high quality imported stuff to what I imagined to be eager buyers in the US. The problem was always that the sense of being generally clueless kept me at bay. I always thought about doing my taxes when I thought of Customs. Up there with getting a root canal.
Continue reading Holiday Reads: Some Great Links, Year in Review
Peru has surpassed Columbia to be the top cocaine producer in the world, yet the traffic continues, once again showing the folly of the failed “War on Drugs.”
From The Peruvian Times:
Continue reading Peru Tops Coca Eradication Goal, But Traffic is Booming
This week, Christine Lagarde of the IMF is visiting Peru & is meeting with the Peruvian President and economic leaders. She spoke this week:
IMFs Lagarde Expects Growth to Continue
Ever wondered about where that yummy chocolate came from? As we move into the holiday season, we’ll be eating more treats, and some will be made of that delicious substance that we all love – Chocolate…Here’s 8 things that you never knew about it…
Continue reading 8 Things that You Might Not Know About Chocolate
Chris Martenson of Peak Prosperity (peakprosperity.com) recently visited Lima to present a seminar with well known financial guru Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad) entitled “The new global scenarios that will define the Peru of the next 20 years”, organized by the University San Martín de Porres and Bu$iness Insiders.
