In 1895, the Journal of Society of Arts recorded that Peru was known for many years as a coffee-producing country, but the coffee grown on the coast was used primarily for domestic consumption, and it was only later that it developed as an exporting nation. Coffee planting began, and coffee is still cultivated near the port of Pacasmayo. Coffee has been cultivated in the south, in the districts of Sandia and Carabaya, and in the centre of Peru in the valleys of Chanchamaya Viloc, and Huanuco. Production in Chanchamayo district was facilitated by the completion of the Central (or Oroya Railway) by the Peruvian Corporation. The Chanchamayu Valley, itself about 10 miles (16 km) long, was in the hands of private plantation owners, while the Perene, Paucartambo, and Rio Colorado valleys, were later linked by railway.
In the 1970s, large dry mills were sited near ports, the transportation network along the Pacific was considered ideal, a model where quantity of production rather than quality was important. This model has changed in recent times with the Agricultural Ministry introducing modern methods, encouraging farmer organizations such as the CENFROCAFE in Jaen, a mountainous area of the Andes.
