“Brazil’s largest coffee exporter blocks members listed in Dirty List of slave labor”, April 17, 2025

Four coffee producers associated with Cooxupé, the world’s largest Arabica coffee cooperative, were included in the Brazilian government’s Dirty List for subjecting 36 workers—including a 16-year-old minor—to conditions analogous to slavery on farms in Minas Gerais... Inspections carried out between June 2023 and July 2024 revealed the absence of formal contracts, inadequate housing, and lack of access to clean drinking water. Cooxupé stated that upon learning of the updated list, it promptly blocked the listed members, suspended coffee purchases from the implicated farms, and segregated stored batches to ensure traceability and product integrity...

At one of the properties, a 16-year-old boy was picking coffee barefoot and was punished for leaving the farm without permission, being forced to work alone without access to mechanized harvesters... On another farm, 11 workers were rescued after going two months without pay. In Altinópolis, workers slept next to calves in makeshift lodgings... In Carmo do Rio Claro, women worked without access to restrooms, facing degrading conditions...

Guaxupé Coffee Exporter, affiliated with Cooxupé, has supplied coffee to brands such as Melitta, Lavazza, JDE, and Starbucks. The companies stated they had not sourced coffee from the implicated farms and follow strict procedures to prevent forced labor in their supply chains... In 2024, Cooxupé posted a record revenue of R$ 10.7 billion and is currently seeking sustainable financing from a Dutch bank while facing criticism over its oversight of suppliers...