Panama is a producer of coffee beans known today as Geisha, a premium specialty coffee.
Coffee production in this country also had deep ties to the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA).
In 1989, the ICO price agreement collapsed, causing coffee prices to fall in producing countries.
For example, in Panama, the price was US$1.20 per pound (approximately 450g), but after the price collapse, it is said to have fallen to US$0.74.
Furthermore, with the increase in production of cheap Robusta beans in Vietnam, there was no hope of Panamanian coffee bean prices recovering.
In this situation, a movement emerged in Panama to focus on producing specialty coffee that would not be affected by commodity coffee prices.
The Specialty Coffee Association of Panama (SCAP) was launched in the early 1990s.
Ricardo Koyner of Hacienda Cotowa and Price Peterson of Hacienda La Esmeralda participated in the management of the organization.
SCAP has been involved with SCAA since its inception, strengthening ties between producing and consuming countries.
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