Challenges and Opportunities for Bella Vista, Mayan Harvest, and the M

It’s been a year since our last update on Mayan Harvest Coffee and the Bella Vista Community in Mexico, and I’m happy to report back this time around with some good news. Bella Vista and the State of Chiapas are a little safer today, thanks to efforts made by the Mexican government and the security measures implemented by the national guard and police. With families feeling a little more at ease regarding their safety, farmers were able to better focus on the 2025 harvest season.

Meeting with members of the Women's Group in 2020

Although things in Bella Vista were back on track for the 2025 harvest season, Mayan Harvest still needed to navigate industry-wide challenges. The price of coffee on the commodities C-market began to increase in Fall 2024 and reached a historic high in February 2025, when the price of commodity coffee was more than double what it had been a year prior. Like other periods of time where global coffee prices spiked, this increase was a result of adverse climate conditions that yielded lower harvests in Brazil and Vietnam. This time around, speculative trading in the coffee futures market also intensified market volatility.

Rosalba photographed with Raúl León Guzmán, National President of Entrepreneurs. This year, the Senate of Mexico presented Mayan Harvest with the "Hecho en México" certification. Rosalba also received a special recognition for her career in coffee and her contributions to developing Mexico. Congratulations, Rosalba!

When the C-market price is high, coffee buyers will increase their purchase prices for unprocessed coffee cherries to meet demand. For many farmers, taking a break from extra work and selling cherries as they are, for a higher price, is very appeal. Like other specialty producers, Mayan Harvest, which had already incentivized farmers with higher prices for well-sorted coffee, need to increase its buying prices to continue encouraging farmers to do the additional work.

In February 2025, before reciprocal tariffs were announced in April, the U.S. announced a 25% tariff on all Mexican imports. Rosalba and her team wondered, would these tariffs actually be enforced, and, if so, would roasters still stand by their purchase contracts? Harvest was in full swing. If Mayan Harvest paused its purchases and operations for a month while waiting for the situation to be resolved, there was a risk that coffee prices would increase even further as the harvest continued, or that Mayan Harvest would have little to purchase because other buyers would have already purchased the bulk of the harvest. We gave Mayan Harvest our reassurance. Andytown had already committed to purchasing coffee before the start of the season, and we would find a way to make it work if the US administration were to impose a tariff.

Several delays and policy changes have occurred since then, and, at least for now, green, unroasted coffee from Mexico is exempt from tariffs under the USMCA Trade Agreement. What does this mean for the Mayan Harvest, the Bella Vista community, and the Mexican coffee industry as a whole?

Assuming that Mexico will continue to benefit from exporting coffee to the US with no tariffs, many US roasters will begin to look towards Mexico to secure their coffee supply. This will encourage farmers in Bella Vista to grow more coffee, and could allow Mayan Harvest to export higher volumes of coffee to the US next year. The increase in demand for Mexican coffee is likely to also drive up its price. Farmers would benefit from a higher income, and they would have more opportunities to invest in their farms and communities. Over time, these investments can lead to improved efficiencies, increased production, and higher-quality coffees. It can potentially allow farmers to sell coffee at a more accessible price for buyers, while still enabling them to earn a good income. This is an optimistic perspective that simplifies the current situation; many other factors could affect the course of the Mexican coffee industry. But at the moment, there is a true opportunity for farmers and producers, and we can only hope for the best.

Farmers in the women's group show us how they pick cherries

We’re glad to work with Mayan Harvest and the Bella Vista community for another year. We’re grateful to Rosalba and the entire Mayan Harvest team for championing farmers and sharing the finest quality beans from their community. We are especially grateful for the Bella Vista women’s group, who continue to produce delicious coffee. This harvest is as sweet as the year before, offering notes of clementine, caramelized sugars like piloncillo – a Mexican unrefined sugar – and a comforting vanilla finish. If you’re looking for a versatile, everyday coffee, this is the one!