A programme run by Ecuador’s government together with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has moved past the experimental stage: 373 growers in the Amazonian province of Zamora Chinchipe now farm coffee across almost 5,000 hectares under a system verified as deforestation-free.
Traceability rests on satellite imagery, georeferenced mapping of the plots, independent verification and cross-checking against official forest-cover records. In 2025 alone exports reached 86.5 tonnes, matching the whole of the 2022-2024 period; across the four years the cumulative total is 172.5 tonnes, worth roughly 1.7 million dollars, with about 90% heading to European markets. Demand has also been supported by the Italian company Lavazza.
The backdrop is the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), postponed to December 2026, which will require geolocation evidence for commodities such as coffee.
Explore the coffee selection available at Mister Tabaco in the Coffee category.
Source: Daily Coffee News