ABSTRACT
Coffee represents the second most important commodity in the world economy behind petroleum, and it accounted for approximately US$16.5 billion in the 2010 crop year, which correlated to 5.8 million tons of coffee marketed in 2010 (Nabais et al. 2008; ITC 2011). According to the 2011 annual crop data compilation from FAOSTAT (2013), 7.6 million tons of coffee beans were produced by 20 global producers (Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Colombia were responsible for ~60% of that amount).
