Coffee powerhouse Colombia hopes early next year to join other producers to buy an influential share in Starbucks, with Brazil and Central American growers also interested, a top coffee official told Reuters.

Colombia, the world's No. 3 producer, has held talks with banks for a year about a share in the U.S. giant, which would allow growers more say in the supply chain, said Gabriel Silva, director of the National Federation of Coffee Growers.

Silva said he hoped a Starbucks deal could be ready by the first quarter of next year and already had offers of alliances from other current investors.