STC has been set up to bring a transparent trading platform for local coops and producers. STC brings pre financing, traffic, hedging, marketing and commercial solutions to our key suppliers.

1. A trip through the costa rican
coffee industry

2. STC: who are we?
STC has been set up to bring a transparent trading platform
for local coops and producers.
STC brings pre financing, traffic, hedging, marketing and
commercial solutions to our key suppliers.
We promote transparency and traceability thanks to our
contract model.
STC has strategic partnership based on long term relation with
suppliers located in the main producing areas as well as
international coffee buyers.
Five employees oversee Trading, Traffic, Administration and
Cupping tasks.

3. STC: who we de?
STC brings pre financing, traffic, hedging, marketing and
commercial solutions to our key suppliers.
We act mainly as broker so as to bring a full transparency and
traceability.
We support our suppliers, submitting export service if needed.
Coffee is milled, sorted and shipped directly from our supplier
facilities.
We work with fully integrated supplier, from cherry to
container.
More: www.stc-coffee.com

4. STC: from who do we trade?

5. STC: from who do we trade?

6. STC: from who do we trade?

7. STC: from who do we trade?

8. Basic facts

10. 2,483
2,111
1,939
2,103
2,316
2,162
1,945
1,894
2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
Production - '000 46 kgs -
2014/15 productivity: 21 qq/hect.

11. 2,007,775
1,758,581
1,600,632
1,455,455
309,090
403,784
282,459 214,175
2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
Export vs Local consumption – 46 kgs
Exportation Local consumption
86.6%
81.3%
82.2% 76.8%

12. 60,483
46,803
2003/04 2013/14
Growers
95
210
2003/04 2013/14
Millers
2014/15 production per grower: 46.5 qq
Average size of farm per grower: 1.9 hect.

14. 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
Independent 128 139 153 173 180
Coop 23 23 22 20 20
Multinational 10 10 9 10 10
Millers:

16. 764,273
597,149
441,226
642,014
1,618,691 1,648,395
1,505,487
1,252,945
2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
Grade breakdown
Hb Shb
68%
73.4%
77.3%
66.2%

17. 0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
700000
800000
900000
Coto Brus Los Santos Perez Zeledon Turrialba Valle Central Valle Occidental Guanacaste
Productionper46kgs
Production trend per area
Coto Brus
10%
Los
Santos
27%
Perez
Zeledon
16%
Turrialba
7%
Valle
Central
14%
Valle
Occidenta
l
25%
Guanaca
ste
1%
Production breakdown per
region

21. The processing chain

22. Harvest: nov./march
Nov. Jan.Dec. Feb.
Low areas High areas
Dec. Jan.May. July.

23. Coffee delivery

24. Coffee delivery

25. Coffee delivery

26. Wet process

27. Wet process

28. Dry process

29. Sorting

30. Export

31. Pricing policy

32. Icafe

33. ‘Adelanto’
El ‘adelanto’ is a portion of the final (unknown) that
millers pays to get the cherry.
Main components for getting cherry are function of
the competitive position of each mill in their
respective area, post/pre harvest services, harvest
volume and international prices/differentials,
short/long position of the mill, etc…
By law, mills cannot buy the coffee at a firm price and
must give the chance to the growers about better
levels if the market rally. On the other side, they are
responsible to guarantee the ‘adelanto’ as a
minimum price, even if the market drops…..

34. ‘Adelanto’

35. ‘Adelanto’

36. How final price to farmers is
set
Each and every export contract fixed must be
immediately reported to Icafe.
Icafe will register and publish each and every
contract declared by millers and calculate the
average price.
At the same time, Icafe will control that export
volume is in line with the harvest reported. Export
cuota depends on the 2 previous harvest size.
Mills will have to declare their costs, exchange rate
that will be deduced from the final payment to
farmers. Such costs must be approved by Icafe
before having the final and official ‘liquidacion’.

37. From FOB to ‘Rieles’
FOB price is paid to the exporter.
According to the law, the Exporter will pay the
Mill based on a ‘Rieles’ price, that means a
net price discounted by:
• 1.5%: Icafe fee
• $2.79/46 kgs as export costs

38. Laws

39. Social welfare
Every employees must be reported to the
Costa Rican social welfare.
Mills pay social security for their employees
and must apply the costa rica law.

40. Water treatment
The Ministry of Environment controls the
quality of treated water from the mills.
By-product treatment must also respect the
law.
Each and every mill have a system of water
and pulp treatment in place.

41. Working condition
The Ministry of Work control if the right of
employees is fully respected, wages paid and
minimum wage respected.

42. Micro lots

43. Suppliers
We work mainly with:
- Micro mills / Estate coffee
- Association of farmers
Micro mills: supply their own coffee, coffee
that have been bought from neighboors or
are used as processing plant for individual
farmers.
Association are used as processing center
and process coffee from their own members.

44. Traceability
Each and every lot comes from a specific
farm.
Coffee is identified since the delivery of the
cherry and will be processed, dried and store
separately.
A technical sheet will be designed and coffee
marked with the name of the farm and
producer.
A GPS point allows the buyer to locate his

45. Quality
Cupper generally select coffees up to 86 points
based on the SCAA cupping scale.
STC does a pre selection, identifying the best
lots.
For ‘repeated’ coffee, STC locked the coffee
with the owner so as to give the buyer the ‘first
priority’.
For new coffee, STC send samples or host
cupping events at the office, combined with field

46. Transparency and price
discovery
Price is negotiated directly with the
Association or Growers (Estate / Micro mills).
The price is the result of:
- Quality
- Process
- Varietal
- Demand
- Long term comitment

47. Packing
Packing is mainly done in 69 kgs bags with
GrainPro.
However, smaller amount (35 kgs) or vacuum
are also available.

48. Challenges

49. San Jose City
San Jose has grown where the former coffee
park.
Central Valley has grown substantially,
replacing coffee trees by offices, houses,
plants…
The all Tres Rios, Curridabat, Heredia area is
almost ‘gone’.

50. Generation
Young people lost faith and desire in growing
coffee. Most of the farms that are passing
through the new generation are sold.
Price level and uncertainty, combined with other
alternatives explain such choice.
The micro lot trend impact positively however.

51. Profitability
In Tres Rios the price of square meter is
$300:
- Real estate: 1,000 m2 x $300 = $300,000
gross
- Farm: 25 qq x $200 = $5,000 gross