The joint-venture company, which will be controlled by Starbucks, will purchase and export high-quality arabica Yunnan coffee beans and operate dry mills in the province.
John Culver, president, Starbucks China and Asia Pacific, and Liu Minghui, founder and chairman, Ai Ni Group, each representing their respective companies, attended the signing ceremony in Kunming, Yunnan’s provincial capital.
With the establishment of the joint venture, Starbucks aims to increase its coffee-sourcing activities in the Yunnan region for use in the company’s global blends, and build long term relationships with Yunnan’s coffee farmers. The joint-venture company will also adopt ‘best practice’ processing methods to ensure a consistent and reliable source of quality coffee for Starbucks, the company said.
Liu Minghui, founder and chairman, Ai Ni Group, said: “Ai Ni Group is excited to partner with Starbucks to bring global best practices to the local coffee industry, and introduce Yunnan’s coffee to coffee lovers in China and beyond. With Starbucks coffee knowledge and expertise, and our well established presence in Yunnan, we are confident the new joint-venture company will be a resounding success in helping to build Yunnan up as a globally recognised premier coffee growing region.”
Source: Starbucks
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