Colombia to open "Juan Valdez" coffee shops abroad

By Martha Sanchez

BOGOTA, Colombia, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Move over Starbucks. Here comes Juan Valdez, the icon of Columbian coffee.

Colombia plans to open Juan Valdez coffee shops in the United States, Europe and Japan to sell its beans directly to consumers as the world's third-largest coffee producer seeks to boost sliding profits, officials said on Monday.

"Now we are not only going to sell bags, but good cups of coffee," Columbian President Alvaro Uribe said during a ceremony at the colonial National Palace building to launch the project.

"If Starbucks has done it, why should we give up on such an important distribution channel?," said Uribe, sitting next to an actor playing the mustachioed, poncho-wearing Valdez.

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