Guest guest Posted May 25, 2006 Report Share Posted May 25, 2006 > > Editor's Note: In 2005, Starbucks had $6.4 > billion dollars in sales > yet coffee is selling today for about 40% of > what it was 10 years > ago and producers are having a hard time of it. > Fair trade > certification cuts out middlemen and pays higher > prices per pound > than non-fair trade exchange, but this is still > a relatively small > amount. At least two other factors help to > explain the poor > situation of coffee producers. One is over > supply - a state of > affairs to which the World Bank and other major > development > institutions have contributed. They have done so > by advising > previously non-coffee producing countries to > grow the product for > export earnings. Second, tariffs and details in > trade agreements > make it difficult for producing countries > themselves to process and > roast beans for export. That is, to engage in > value-added activities. > > > The article below on fair trade coffee in > Ethiopia is followed by > summaries and links to the websites of two new > documentaries on the > subject. > > > > http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060519.RCOFFEE19/TPStory/?que\ ry=nolen# > > > WHERE COFFEE FUELS A NATION > > > In Ethiopia, fair trade for bean farmers is > slowly raising incomes > in one of the world's poorest countries, > STEPHANIE NOLEN writes > > STEPHANIE NOLEN > > ADDIS ABABA -- Perhaps you're reading this over a > cup of coffee. Maybe a > Starbucks coffee. Maybe you even paid extra for > Shirkina beans, a > fair-trade variety that sells for the > conscience-soothing premium price > of $10 (U.S.) a pound in North America. > > The employees of Ethiopia's largest coffee > processing factory and the > small family farmers -- all 86,762 of them -- who > grew the Shirkina > beans would like to thank you. > > Here in one of the poorest countries in the world, > coffee is responsible > for a quarter of the gross national product, and 55 > per cent of all > export revenue. More than a third of the 78 million > people in Ethiopia > earn their livelihood from some phase of coffee > production. > > And in recent years, the lustre of organic > certification and fair-trade > agreements -- long more common in coffee-producing > nations in Latin > America -- have made it to Ethiopia, offering the > promise of additional > earnings for a commodity priced at just 40 per cent > of what it was a > decade ago. Two weeks ago, for example, the > Rainforest Alliance > certified 678 small coffee farms; their beans can be > sold at a premium > price because their production is being done in a > way that conserves > forest ecosystems and puts profits into schools and > clinics. > > But Ethiopia's coffee industry provides a blunt > reminder that while fair > trade and conservation products may make Western > consumers feel better, > all things are relative. > > The women who sort the Shirkina beans, for example, > earn 7.5 birr for > each nine-hour day in the dim, clamouring factory -- > that's 96 cents > (Canadian). The men who load the sacks of hulled > beans on to trucks for > export to North America earn $2. And while the > bean-picking ladies are > glad to report that their wages are up from 5 birr a > day two years ago, > and they're very glad to have a job, they would like > you to know it's > really not very much money. " I'd do anything else, " > said one sorter, a > high-school graduate in her 20s. " If there was > anything else. " > > The farmers, meanwhile, are earning a premium for > their fair-trade green > beans -- $1.60 (U.S.) a pound for green beans, > compared with 60 cents a > pound if they were selling without the fair-trade > agreement. > > " The fair-trade market is making a difference for > coffee communities: > Comparatively the fair-trade buyers are paying a > better price, > especially when the market is down -- fair trade > means a minimum > guaranteed price that will at least cover your cost > of production, " said > Asnake Bekele, general manager of the Sidamo Coffee > Farmers Cooperative > Union. > > The co-operative grows beans for Starbucks' > fair-trade products. " But we > don't deserve this price: Fair trade is better than > conventional but I > can't say fair trade is fair. " > > Coming out of years of socialist dictatorship in the > late 1990s, > Ethiopia relaxed the rules governing coffee > production, and allowed > farmers to organize into co-operatives and make > their own deals for > exports, instead of selling all production to the > state. Co-ops such as > Sidamo, in turn, have allowed farmers to bypass the > export middlemen and > seek out their own international markets, especially > those willing to > pay the fair-trade premium. > > And they're feeling the effect: " It contributes -- > they improve their > flow of income, " Mr. Bekele said. School enrolment > is up among children > of the fair-trade coffee growers; they spend the > extra money on food and > clothes. > > Nevertheless, a typical Ethiopian coffee farmer > still receives less than > 1 per cent of what Canadian consumers pay for their > lattes. (The farmers > sell red cherries for 1 birr, or 11 cents per kg, it > takes six kg of > cherries to make one kg of green beans, 1.2 kg of > green beans to make 1 > kg of roasted beans, and each kilo of roasted beans > makes 60 cups, sold > for an average of $3 each, or $180.) And unlike the > other main African > producers (Ivory Coast, Uganda and Kenya), the vast > majority of > Ethiopian coffee is grown by small farmers. > > " They are selling below the level of production > costs because they don't > count family labour, " Mr. Bekele explained. Farmers' > children do much of > the picking; there is no line item in the accounts > for their wages. > > Mr. Bekele figures that only a price at $2 a pound > of beans or above > would cover real production costs, and maybe allow a > little profit. But > fair-trade prices are moving the other way. Two > years ago, the Fairtrade > Labelling Organization paid $1.26 a pound when the > conventional market > was offering 60 cents a pound -- but last year when > the market hit $1.30 > a pound, fair-trade buyers still insisted on $1.26, > he said, claiming: > " We are you friend in bad times and you have to do > us a favour. " > > Coffee growers here are earning 10 cents a pound > above the conventional > price for organic beans. In truth, most Ethiopian > coffee production is > organic -- the family farmers who grow most of the > beans can't afford > agrochemicals -- but the process of getting > certified costs about $2,600 > and is beyond the reach of small producers. > > Ethiopia has a storied love affair with coffee -- > this is the country > where the tree was first domesticated, and a third > of the production is > consumed domestically, making this the biggest > coffee-drinking nation in > Africa. But the government realizes that the > country's dependence on the > bean is a problem, and is pushing diversification > into other > agricultural exports such as cut flowers and pulses. > The government also > wants to see more coffee processing done at home -- > in 2003, for > example, Ethiopia exported 126,100 tons of beans, > but just 115 tons of > that was roasted and milled coffee. > > Yet grabbing more of the value-added agroprocessing > industry is easier > said than done: Foreign investment remains virtually > non-existent here, > in large part because the government maintains an > impenetrable > bureaucratic environment. There is not a single > foreign-owned bank in > Ethiopia, for example. > > " Things are better, " Mr. Bekele said, standing amid > thousands and > thousands of 62-kg burlap sacks of beans from his > co-operative and the > tangy smell of green coffee. " They're definitely > better. But there is > still a very long way to go. " > > *The historyCoffee* was first discovered growing in > Ethiopia centuries > ago, where legend has it a goat herder noticed his > flock becoming frisky > after eating berries on a bush. Arabian traders took > the plants home in > the 15th century, where they were first cultivated. > By the 17th century, > European coffee houses began to appear, thanks to > travellers who had > been to the east and tasted the black beverage known > for keeping its > drinkers alert all day and up at night. > > *The deal* > > The fair trade coffee movement took root in the past > decade when prices > plunged and farmers went broke. Farmers who organize > into co-operatives > are guaranteed $1.60 (U.S.) a pound for their beans, > compared with 60 > cents. " Fair trade is better than conventional but I > can't say fair > trade is fair. " Asnake Bekele, general manager of > the Sidamo Coffee > Farmers Cooperative Union. > > *The beans* > > The variety named Shirkhina -- the Amharic word for > partnership -- was > created by Starbucks and the farmer who grow it. The > cafe chain bills it > as " bursting with lush black cherry notes and exotic > layers of cocoa and > spice. " > > *The path* > > Ethiopian farmers are paid about 66 cents (U.S.) for > six kilograms of > the coffee plant's ripe fruit, known as red > cherries. This pile of > cherries, when hulled, becomes one kilo of green > coffee beans. After > roasting, you're left with just under a kilo of > beans. This is enough > coffee to brew 60 cups. At $3 a cup, that's $180 a > kilo. Bottoms up. > > *The commodity* > > COFFEE, MONTHLY CLOSE ON THE NEW YORK BOARD OF TRADE > > Yesterday's close: $1.02 U.S. a pound, up 0.75¢ > > *Documentary 1* > > www.blackcoffeethemovie.com > > *BLACK COFFEE* (focus on Costa Rica) > Like millions of other java-addicted consumers, you > probably make a beeline for your local coffee shop > every morning, > and willingly shell out as much as $4 for a tall, > non-fat latte. But what you pay for your morning fix > equals a day's wages for the millions of workers > who harvest the bean. Black Coffee provides an > intriguing glimpse into the dark side of the brew, > which is the second largest trading commodity in > the world after oil, and like sugar, has been > instrumental in promoting the slave trade. > > http://www.blackcoffeemovie.com/ > > *Documentary** 2* > > http://www.blackgoldmovie.com/ > > *Black Gold* > > " As Westerners indulge in designer lattes, starving > coffee growers > around the world suffer the bitter taste of > injustice. In this > eye-opening expose, Marc and Nick Francis take us on > a whirlwind tour > through the $55 billion-dollar coffee industry. > Despite the growing > profits of coffee multinationals, prices paid to > farmers have dropped to > an all-time low. Nowhere is this more apparent that > in Ethiopia, the > birthplace of coffee, where thousands of coffee > growers have lost their > livelihood and the starving citizenry subsists on > foreign food aid. It > is here that fair trade advocate Tadesse Meskela > represents 70,000 > coffee farmers on the brink of bankruptcy. > Circumventing the middlemen, > he personally travels to Western capitals in the > hope of brokering deals > with socially conscientious coffee companies. His > goal is to see > Ethiopian growers share in the profits of this > valuable trading > commodity, second only to oil on the world market. > The Francis brothers > follow Meskela on his quest. Along the way, they > meet coffee growers, > pickers, auctioneers, sellers, tasters and baristas, > serving up a lively > and provocative brew of high stakes and equality. " > (Karen Tisch, Hot Docs) > > -- > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > WHO WE ARE: This e-mail service shares information > to help more people > discuss crucial policy issues affecting global food > security. > The service is managed by Amber McNair of the > University of Toronto > in partnership with the Centre for Urban Health > Initiatives (CUHI) and > Wayne Roberts of the Toronto Food Policy Council, in > partnership with > the Community Food Security Coalition, World Hunger > Year, and > International Partners for Sustainable Agriculture. > > Please help by sending information or names and > e-mail addresses of > co-workers who'd like to receive this service, to > foodnews. To or , please > visit http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/food-news. > _____________ food-news mailing list food-news http://list.web.net/lists/listinfo/food-news Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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