EP1656 Part 1 of 5 | What Happened Between Benecke Coffee and Peru’s Cooperatives? (Benecke) | Map It Forward
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Episode Description
This is episode 1 of a five-part investigative series of The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward examining what happened between Benecke Coffee in Germany and coffee cooperatives in Peru pursuing claims for coffee they say remains unpaid.
Across this series, we are asking a larger question: What happens when trust, trade and accountability break down in the global coffee supply chain?
In this first episode, podcast host Lee Safar is joined by Emerson Carrasco, General Manager of Sanchirio Palomar Cooperative; Anabel Barrientos, General Manager of Ubiriki Valley Cooperative; and Óscar Inocente, a lawyer working with four of the affected Peruvian cooperatives. Ana Maria Donneys from Café Primitivo joins the series as translator.
**Correction: In this episode, Arthur E. Darboven was described in a way that could suggest he remained part of Benecke Coffee’s executive management during the 2025 payment crisis. Subsequent verification of corporate-register information indicates that he ceased serving as Managing Director of Benecke on 25 April 2024. His ownership position after that date, and any continuing involvement in Benecke’s affairs, remain under investigation. We are updating the record accordingly.
Before getting into the Benecke dispute itself, this episode establishes who these cooperatives are and the role they play in the lives and businesses of hundreds of smallholder coffee producers.
Emerson explains that Sanchirio Palomar represents 633 small coffee producers, including 220 women, while Anabel describes Ubiriki Valley as a cooperative with 845 members. The conversation explores the work cooperatives carry out across production support, certification, quality control, processing, financing, transportation and access to international coffee markets.
That context matters because when an international coffee transaction fails, the unpaid invoice is only one part of the risk.
The cooperatives have already financed coffee purchases, supported production, processed and prepared the coffee for export, managed certifications and logistics, and assumed significant commercial and financial exposure before receiving payment from an overseas buyer.
The conversation then turns to how the cooperatives began working with Benecke Coffee.
Anabel says Ubiriki had worked with Benecke for more than five years and historically had a good commercial relationship with the company, with approximately 25–30% of the cooperative’s sales going through Benecke.
Emerson says Sanchirio Palomar began trading with Benecke in 2025 and sold seven containers of organic Fairtrade coffee. According to Emerson, five containers were paid for while two remained unpaid at the time of recording.
Óscar says the four Peruvian cooperatives he is working with are pursuing claims connected to approximately 18 containers with an estimated value of around US$3 million. He also says there may be additional cooperatives that were affected but did not become formally registered creditors in the insolvency proceedings.
Episode 1 lays the foundation for the rest of the investigation: who the cooperatives represent, how much risk they carry, how the relationships with Benecke developed, and the scale of the claims now being pursued.
In Episode 2, we follow the coffee from Peru to Germany to understand how these transactions were structured, when payment was expected, and where the commercial process began to break down.
Connect with our guests here:
Anabel Barrientos
https://www.linkedin.com/company/cooperativa-cafetalera-valle-ubiriki
gerencia@ubiriki.com.pe
Emerson Carrasco
https://www.linkedin.com/in/emerson-carrasco-791b9871/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sanchirio-pe
ecarrasco@sanchirio.com
Oscar Innocente
oinocente@hotmail.com
WhatsApp +51 995 147 869
https://www.linkedin.com/in/oinocente/
For media, contact Nataly Fabrikantova
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataly-fabrikantova-82609219a/
Editorial Note:
This series concerns an active insolvency and ongoing creditor claims. Statements concerning Benecke Coffee, the insolvency proceedings and other organisations reflect the accounts of the participants unless otherwise identified. Allegations should not be understood as findings of wrongdoing.