Quito Hosts Ecuador's First International Coffee Fair, Drawing Dozens of Exhibitors
Quito Hosts Ecuador's First International Coffee Fair, Drawing Dozens of Exhibitors
Quito's Centro de Convenciones Metropolitano, located in Parque Bicentenario, opened its doors to The Global Coffee Fair from September 18 to 20. Organizers describe it as the first international coffee fair organized directly in Ecuador. The gathering brought together producers, roasters, baristas, and industry experts under one roof, aiming to showcase Ecuador's coffee industry to both domestic and international audiences.
Who Showed Up: Exhibitors and Scale
Reported exhibitor numbers vary depending on the source. Some event materials point to roughly 80 exhibitors, while earlier wire coverage cited more than 32 participants from across the country. This discrepancy may reflect different counting methods, event phases, or reporting timelines, and it's worth noting rather than resolving in favor of a single figure. Among the producers featured in coverage were Diana Salvador, who grows specialty coffee in Chocó Andino, Pichincha province, and Luis López, an exhibitor from Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas province.
Ecuador's Coffee-Growing Footprint
Event organizers state that coffee is produced in 22 of Ecuador's 24 provinces, and that Ecuador is the only Andean country growing coffee across all four of its main geographic regions: Costa, Sierra, Amazonía, and Galápagos. Organizers also describe more than 80 percent of the country's producers as small or medium scale operations. These figures came from event organizers and interviewees rather than independently verified statistical sources, so readers should treat them as industry framing rather than confirmed data.
Getting In: Admission and Access
General admission to the fair was priced at USD 2.50, with a discounted rate of USD 1.25 for children, seniors, and people with disabilities. The three-day format was positioned as accessible to the general public rather than limited to industry insiders, a detail organizers emphasized as part of the event's broader outreach goals.
A Bigger Stage: South America's 100 Best Coffee Shops Gala
The fair was co-located with the South America's 100 Best Coffee Shops gala, an event that generated its own wave of local coverage after a Quito café placed among the top ten, with some outlets reporting a second-place finish. Many observers note that this pairing helped position Quito as a broader hub for coffee culture and business tourism during the event window, though the extent of any lasting impact remains to be seen.
Reading the Coverage: Promotion vs. Verification
Coverage of the fair, spanning official municipal sources, wire services, and local outlets, has been largely promotional and announcement-style in tone. Claims about economic impact and Ecuador's "international positioning" in the coffee world are organizer assertions rather than independently verified outcomes. A recurring theme across sources is the use of superlatives such as "first" and "only Andean country," which readers may want to treat as industry framing rather than settled fact. As with many trade fair reports, the enthusiasm of organizers and participants is well documented, while broader claims about lasting economic or cultural impact remain, for now, a matter of ongoing observation.