The coffee: Overview of the global market, the performance and the business strategies in Colombia

The purpose of this thesis is to examine and analyze in a qualitative and quantitative way the global coffee market, with a deeply focus in the Colombian one. Starting by a description of the coffee bean, its history, types of coffee and production process, the document will analyze then the international markets dynamics, identifying main coffee players, characteristics, and financial performance (with the help of the database provided by Bureau Van Djik, ORBIS). With a clear overview of the global coffee market, the document targets the attention in the Colombian coffee market, telling the history of the coffee in the country, analyzing the market dynamics, and identifying main coffee players at the national level. Finally, the most important actor of the Colombian market is analyzed, the National Federation of Coffee Growers in Colombia, with its business strategy: Vertical Integration. This entity is unique in the world, with both private and public tasks, allowing it to dominate and control the Colombian coffee market.