SAO PAULO, June 16 (Reuters) - A Brazilian coffee research institute has started a decisive stage in a two-decade project to develop arabica coffee varieties that are naturally decaffeinated, a development the researchers think could have significant commercial potential. The program is being developed at the Instituto Agronomico de Campinas (IAC), a leading coffee research center that has provided many of the high-yield coffee plants that have helped Brazil become a powerhouse in the global coffee market, supplying more than a third of the trade. Companies selling decaffeinated coffee as well could benefit with reduced costs, since they could skip the industrial processes to remove caffeine from regular coffee varieties. Coffee trees usually take two to three years to produce the first fruits, so there are still some years ahead until the researchers can harvest that coffee and test it. Consumption of decaffeinated coffee accounts for around 10% of the market in the United States, according to data from the National Coffee Association (NCA).

---

Persons: Julio Cesar Mistro, Roberto Samora, Marcelo Teixeira, Sandra Maler Organizations: SAO PAULO, Instituto Agronomico, IAC, National Coffee Association, Thomson Locations: Campinas, Brazil, Europe, United States, New York