Starbucks Will Only Serve Locally Sourced and Roasted Coffee in Colombia (SBUX)

The world’s largest coffee-store chain, Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) said on Monday that it will open its first store in Bogota, Colombia, next year. The Seattle based Company, which has been buying coffee beans from Colombia for more than 40 years, said that it will open at least 50 stores across Colombia in the course of next five years. The Company said that it will only source locally produced coffee.

The announcement comes at a time when local coffee producers are on strike for the second week, demanding subsidies from the Colombian government. Lately, global coffee prices have fallen sharply (40%) while cheap imports are also harming local coffee producers’ business. The nation is the world’s largest producer for washed Arabica coffee beans.

In an interview, Starbucks Corp’s Chief Executive, Howard Schultz said that the company does not anticipate experiencing any supply chain disruptions due to strikes in Colombia, adding that the its entry in the Andean nation was welcomed by the Colombian government and local coffee growers as well.

“We have always paid a significant premium for the coffee we buy in Colombia,” added Mr. Schultz, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Pacifying Colombian coffee drinkers concerns over consuming only locally sourced and roasted coffee, Schultz said, “We knew going in that when we opened in Colombia we would roast coffee there. It would be disrespectful, given the long history of farming in Colombia, to send coffee back to America to be roasted.”

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Post Written By: Ed Liston Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications. He is widely quoted in various financial publications on the Internet. When Ed is not writing about stocks, investing in stocks, talking about stocks, or otherwise doing something stock related, he likes to go sailing and fishing in his yacht.