Fedecocagua

What Fedecocagua does

Fedecocagua (Federación de Cooperativas Agrícolas de Productores de Café de Guatemala) is a second-degree cooperative federation founded on March 26, 1969 and legally established on June 4, 1971, headquartered in Guatemala City. It functions as a federated platform for 148 cooperatives and approximately 20,000 small coffee producers spanning all major coffee-producing regions of Guatemala, including Huehuetenango, San Marcos, Quetzaltenango, Retalhuleu, Sololá, Chimaltenango, Escuintla, Jalapa, Zacapa, Cobán, and adjacent departments, served through five regional offices. The federation's mandate is to bridge smallholder producers—who lack education, infrastructure, and direct market access—with international buyers in consumer countries.

The federation operates an integrated service stack across five core offerings: Producción y Exportación (production and export, with ISO 9001-2000 certification), Asistencia Técnica (technical assistance covering agronomic, administrative, financial, social, and economic dimensions, including certification support), Financiamiento (favorable-rate credit for modernization), Comercialización (marketing and dry processing), and Beneficio Seco (specialty coffee processing and classification into named grades such as Fancy SHB Cuchumatán, Genuine Antigua Pastoral, SHB-EP La Delicia, FSHB-EP Gourmet, Semi Hard-bean, and Extra Prime). Its wholly owned subsidiary Fundación UGK, created in 2007, runs corporate social responsibility programs including housing improvements and wet mill upgrades.

Fedecocagua monetizes primarily through direct export of green coffee (café oro) to international buyers in Europe, Japan, the United States, and Canada under relationships established since 1998, and secondarily through managed agricultural financing services to member cooperatives. The federation maintains a broad portfolio of sustainability and quality certifications (Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, Utz, C.A.F.E. Practices, Nespresso AAA, 4C, Naturland, Orgánico JAS, NOP/USDA, BIO Suisse) that serve as the gating requirement for accessing premium specialty and ethical sourcing channels. It is led by Gerente General Ulrich Gurtner Kappeler, who has held the role since 1998.

Name

Fedecocagua

Legal name

Federación de Cooperativas Agrícolas de Productores de Café de Guatemala

Website

https://fedecocagua.com.gt

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Fedecocagua is a Guatemalan second-degree cooperative federation, founded in 1969, that supports 148 cooperatives and approximately 20,000 small coffee producers by providing technical assistance, financing, dry processing, and direct export of green coffee to international buyers in Europe, Japan, the United States, and Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Green Coffee Export and Processing

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Green Coffee Processing (Hulling, Grading, Decaffeination) (AFAFADAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Trading/Wholesale (AFAIAKAD)

Keywords

• Green coffee export
• Coffee cooperative federation
• Specialty coffee processing
• Agricultural financing services
• Sustainable coffee certification

Headquarters

HQ city

Guatemala City

HQ country

Guatemala

HQ region

Latin America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Coffee Export and Commercialization: Fedecocagua operates a dry processing facility (beneficio seco) to convert parchment coffee to green coffee (café oro) for export to international markets worldwide. The commercialization department maintains direct contact with the Production, Cupping, and Export departments and serves as the link to external clients and green coffee buyers.
2. Agricultural Financing Services: The Finance Department offers planning, capitalization, transmission, granting, and recovery of credit at favorable interest rates to member cooperatives, enabling them to modernize processes and invest in competitiveness.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Fedecocagua is a second-degree cooperative federation that provides integrated coffee processing, export, technical assistance, financing, and commercialization services to 148 member cooperatives and approximately 20,000 small coffee producers across Guatemala. The federation operates dry processing facilities (Beneficio Seco) to convert parchment coffee to export-quality green coffee (café oro), supplies specialty varieties under multiple international certifications, and exports directly to buyers in Europe, Japan, the United States, and Canada under ISO 9001-2000 quality standards.

Product overview

Fedecocagua is a second-degree cooperative federation representing approximately 20,000 small coffee producers across 148 cooperatives in Guatemala. The organization operates as an integrated platform offering five interconnected services: Producción y Exportación (production and export), Asistencia Técnica (technical assistance with certification support), Financiamiento (financing), Comercialización (marketing and dry processing), and Beneficio Seco (specialty coffee processing). The Fundación UGK serves as the corporate social responsibility arm focusing on housing, education, and wet mill improvements. The federation connects small producers to global markets, particularly through specialty coffee certifications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Producción y Exportación (Production and Export) Processes and exports green coffee (café oro) to international markets, ensuring product quality through ISO 9001-2000 certification. The Production and Export Department handles end-to-end processing and shipping for member cooperatives.
• Asistencia Técnica (Technical Assistance) Provides administrative, financial, agronomic, social, and economic support to cooperatives, including training programs and certification processes for organic and specialty products. Supports multiple certifications including Utz, Rainforest Alliance, C.A.F.E. Practices, 4C, Nespresso AAA, Naturland, Fairtrade, JAS, NOP/USDA, and BIO Suisse.
• Financiamiento (Financing) Offers planning, capitalization, transmission, granting, and recovery of credit at favorable interest rates to enable cooperatives to modernize production processes, acquire machinery, and make competitive investments.
• Comercialización (Commercialization) Operates dry processing facilities to convert parchment coffee to green coffee (café oro), then commercializes the product worldwide through direct export relationships, providing direct market access for producer cooperatives. The Commercialization Department maintains direct contact with Production, Cupping, and Export departments and serves as the link to external clients and green coffee buyers.
• Beneficio Seco (Dry Processing)

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 100 homes improved through housing program (Q 2,000 / approx. $250 USD in materials per family)
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and foundational.

• International Importers (Europe, Japan, USA, Canada)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1998Direct commercial relationships established since 1998 with coffee importers and roasters in Europe, Japan, United States, and Canada. Fedecocagua exports green coffee directly to these buyers.
• Guatemalan Church Bishops (Supporters of Cooperativism)foundationalOthers · 1 January 1969Guatemalan bishops who supported popular organization and connected Fedecocagua founders with German bishops and Misereor for development support during the Cold War period.
• Starbucks (C.A.F.E. Practices)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFedecocagua supplies coffee to Starbucks under their C.A.F.E. Practices ethical sourcing program, one of the world's most demanding market requirements.
• NespressocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFedecocagua supplies coffee to Nespresso under their AAA sustainable sourcing program, accessing premium specialty coffee markets.
• Fairtrade InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFedecocagua maintains Fairtrade certification enabling small producers to access fair trade markets with guaranteed minimum prices and premium payments for community development.
• Rainforest AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFedecocagua maintains Rainforest Alliance certification demonstrating sustainable farming practices and environmental responsibility to access environmentally conscious markets.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Volcafe (ED&F Man): Global coffee trading and processing company with established operations across origins including Guatemala, supplying roasters worldwide. Comparable as a vertically integrated trader/competitor to Fedecocagua's export arm.
• ECOM Trading: Global coffee merchant with significant Central American presence, operating wet/dry mills, providing financing to smallholders, and exporting green coffee worldwide. Directly competes for Fedecocagua's buyer relationships and smallholder supply.
• Neumann Kaffee Gruppe: One of the world's largest green coffee traders, operating across origins including Guatemala, with proprietary processing and direct relationships with the same roasters Fedecocagua supplies. Broad incumbent competing for the same international buyer contracts.
• Olam Coffee (ofi): Major global coffee origin business (now operating under ofi) sourcing, processing, and exporting green coffee from Central America. Competes directly with Fedecocagua for international roaster contracts and smallholder supply programs.

Direct peers

• COMSA (Café Orgánico Marcala): Honduran organic coffee cooperative federation with similarly structured smallholder aggregation, Fairtrade/organic certification portfolio, and direct export of specialty green coffee. Closely mirrors Fedecocagua's scale, model, and target markets.
• Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC): Colombian national coffee-grower federation — the closest analog to Fedecocagua in structure (cooperative federation aggregating hundreds of thousands of small producers), specialty processing, and direct international export of green coffee. Directly comparable as a national cooperative exporter competing for the same international roaster buyers.
• Cooperativa de Caficultores de Antioquia: Colombian coffee-grower cooperative federation with similar smallholder aggregation model, wet/dry processing infrastructure, and direct green coffee export operations. Analogous to Fedecocagua at slightly larger scale.

Emerging players

• Cosecha Partners: Emerging coffee-impact investor and supply chain operator that partners with smallholder cooperatives across Latin America to improve quality, certification, and access to specialty buyers. Adjacent in mission and customer base to Fedecocagua's smallholder-services model.

Others

• Fairtrade International: Global fair-trade certification body whose Fairtrade certification Fedecocagua already holds; sets the standard under which the federation accesses premium-paying markets. Ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor.
• Root Capital: Non-profit agricultural impact lender providing financing and capacity building to smallholder coffee cooperatives in Latin America. Overlaps with Fedecocagua's financing and technical assistance functions as an ecosystem enabler.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/FedecocaguaRL
• Facebookfacebook.com/fedecocagua
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fedecocagua

Compliance14 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fedecocagua