World Bank Group | Agriculture & Rural Development | Executive Summary - Coffee Markets: New Paradigms in Global Supply and Demand (#)

„In some of these countries, these taxes alone are approximately equivalent to the coffee revenue earned by the producing countries.Volatility in the producers' share of the retail value will still be more influenced by changes in the price level of green coffee than by changes in any other cost component because the value-adding costs are independent of the price of green coffee. Green coffee prices are the single most volatile expense incurred in putting roasted coffee on the market shelf and, consequently one of the major determinants of changes in the producing countries' share of the retail value. Producers' ability to capture fair value from their output will require that producer organizations and producer countries act to improve their capabilities and their bargaining position with a clear understanding of these two factors—and of the structural changes and the market failures mentioned above. Many countries perceive the commodity trading system to be increasingly onerous and partly responsible for the loss of share of market value.“

http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/essd/ardext.nsf/.../ executivesummary-coffeemarkets - Cached

Transfair USA | Press Releases (#)

„In contrast the current world market price is 65 cents per pound, and has reached as low as 42 cents in the last year. International relief and development agencies have cited this collapse of coffee prices as the cause of widespread hunger, unemployment and the loss of farms in coffee growing regions worldwide. Equal Exchange, the pioneer and U.S. market leader in fair trade coffee since 1991, is a full service provider of specialty, organic, fair trade coffee, premium tea and instant hot cocoa to 2,000 supermarkets, natural food stores, restaurants, colleges and 1,500 places of worship across North America. One hundred percent of Equal Exchange's products are fairly traded, and the firm offers the world's widest selection of fairly traded coffee, along with four varieties of organic, fair trade tea, and the first cocoa mix to carry the Fair Trade Certified Label.“

http://www.transfairusa.org/content/about/ pr_030129.php - Cached

CRS Fair Trade (#)

„Don Sabas (below), owns just over two acres of land, where he is growing coffee using organic farming methods. CRS and Cáritas Matagalpa are working with hundreds of small-scale coffee farmers like Sebastiana and Sabas in the mountainous north of Nicaragua, where historically low coffee prices have caused acute suffering in recent years. Some CRS-supported coffee farmers in this part of Nicaragua earned as little as 19 cents per pound after the last harvest-less than half what it cost them to produce their coffee. With support from CRS, the Cooperativa Las Nubes hopes to export its coffee to the Fair Trade market in the near future, where the guaranteed minimum price for organic coffee is $1.41 per pound-enough to cover the costs of coffee production, and to provide a dignified livelihood for Sebastiana, Sabas and their families.“

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BBC News | BUSINESS | Coffee farmers 'face destitution' (#)

„Oxfam fails to address the fundamental economics of the coffee market in the long term British Coffee Association Oxfam is concerned at the growing disparity of wealth between different parts of the coffee industry, following a 60% drop in the value of the crop on international commodity markets in the last three years. The British Coffee Association has dismissed the report's findings at "too short term." Rich versus poor Oxfam says that, in real terms, coffee prices are lower than they have ever been. Click here to see the biggest coffee producing countries This, it says, is having devastating consequences for poor farmers in coffee growing countries. Vulnerable at the best of times, Oxfam says they now face a descent into extreme poverty, with serious consequences for health, education and social stability.“

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1333000/ 1333204.stm - Cached

Global Exchange : 445.html (#)

„It says multinational coffee companies are making large profits by charging consumers in rich countries 1,500 percent more than farmers in poor countries are paid for their beans. Coffee prices on the world market average US$1.10 a kilogram, while production cost is around $1.76. "The worst may be over for embattled coffee growers like us, with prices finally rising off record lows," said Nguyen Trong, owner of nearly 20 hectares [49 acres] of coffee plantation in Daklak province in the country's central highlands. "The surging prices are due to the increase of coffee prices in the world market and the decrease of the country's coffee output," said the chairman of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, Doan Trieu Nhan.“

http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/coffee/ 445.html - Cached

Tea & Coffee 02/02 - Working to Help Coffee’s Children (#)

„The Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) executive director Ted Lingle points out the concept of “diminishing opportunity” with falling prices. “The underlying problem has been low world coffee prices, which for the past fifty years have not kept pace with U.S. inflation.” Lingle states, “Through their purchases consumers have consistently rewarded those firms selling coffee for the lowest prices. This means in order to maintain or increase sales, many coffee roasters have continued to seek out low cost coffees. In a global economy the net result is that farmers in Guatemala must compete with farmers in Vietnam for market share, and consequently the value of farm labor in Guatemala is discounted against lower labor costs in Vietnam.“

http://www.teaandcoffee.net/0202/special.htm - Cached

Virtual Coffee - The Hottest Online Coffee Zine! (#)

„I had visited the country's coffee regions periodically over the past nine years, but this time I could tell things on the coffee farms were more desperate than ever before. The economic impact of low world coffee prices has devastated all sectors of Nicaragua's economy. But despite these immense obstacles, there are still signs of optimism and innovation, and the Nicaraguan people continue to surmount their challenges by implementing new coffee business models. Perhaps as a result of facing so many different crises over the years, Nicaragua will be able to turn the current coffee crisis into more of an opportunity than a hurdle.“

http://www.virtualcoffee.com/articles/fall03/ article1.html - Cached

The Coffee Review - the world's leading coffee buying guide (#)

„Blue Mountain Estate Coffees. A prolonged recession in Japan (Japan supported Jamaica coffee prices by buying Blue Mountain heavily) and a general, worldwide plunge in coffee prices has the Jamaica Blue Mountain industry in trouble. At the same time, the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica has embarked on an unprecedented experiment by allowing several farmers to wet-process their Blue Mountain on their farms and export their coffees as separate and distinct estate coffees, rather than as generic Blue Mountain. These new estate Blue Mountains include Alex Twyman's Old Tavern Estate, and the RSW Estates, a group of three family-owned farms that wet-process their coffees at a common mill.“

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Transfair USA | The Issues (#)

„But consumers worldwide are now voting with their dollars to put an end to this practice by switching to Fair Trade Certified brands which guarantee fair compensation and adhere to the highest International Labour Organization (ILO) standards. Fair Trade keeps families together in a time of crisis Thousands of family farmers have been uprooted in the past year in Central America and Mexico, two regions hardest hit by the continued freefall in coffee prices. Many have been forced to sell their farms and leave their families to seek underpaid work in cities across the US and Central America. In this time of crisis, Fair Trade offers a living wage and a beacon of hope to farming families, allowing them to stay on their land and protect their families and communities.“

http://www.transfairusa.org/content/about/ issues.php - Cached

The Coffees of Honduras (#)

„But Santa Barbara, with its unpredictable rainfall, still has great soils and altitude for coffee. These Northern Honduran coffees, grown near the border of Guatemala, have often been smuggled across the border to be sold as Fraijanes coffee, or "Antigua-type" coffees, due to low domestic coffee prices . hopefully this Cup of Excellence event will change the perception of Honduran coffees.You can see the exact location on the plot of Cup of Excellence coffees I made above. Anyway, I feel sure that this cup is more interesting than 95% of Guatemalan coffees sold in the US!“

http://www.sweetmarias.com/ coffee.central.honduras.html - Cached

BBC NEWS | Business | Why cheap beans don't make cheap coffee (#)

„Seen in isolation, it is probably good advice. But if many countries and many farmers are advised to produce more when coffee prices are high, the end result is invariably a slump in world coffee prices caused by a dramatic oversupply of coffee on the world market. Coffee traders in the financial markets are also often blamed for causing the world coffee price to fluctuate by placing speculative and sometimes market-moving bets on tomorrow's prices in the financial futures market. What are the consequences for coffee producers?“

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/1307081.stm - Cached

The Coffee Review - the world's leading coffee buying guide (#)

„Unfortunately, we may not taste many fine coffees from any of these countries again if world prices for green coffees do not rise. Every month I feel obligated to remind my readers that coffee farmers all over the world are starving and being displaced by a glut of cheap coffee that, owing to the structural irrationality of a market that links specialty coffee prices with commercial coffee prices, has driven down the price of fine coffees far below the cost that it takes farmers to produce them.“

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Indian coffee board- monthly magazine- Cover Story - Multi Tiered Cropping in Yercaud Coffee & Pepper (#)

„Diversification: The watch word to overcome low coffee prices and survive is now more valid than ever before, Floriculture, Pisciculture, Medicinal plants culture, Apiculture and Horticulture are all ways and means of augmenting income, not to mention cattle, horse farming and rearing dogs. Of late, bioproducts such as vermiculture and bio-control agents such as Trichoderma and predator insect growth such as apnesia crypto lamus montzourei and other friendly agent for the production of coffee are all viable and most desirable side ventures on a plantation that are possible and merit consideration for successful coffee plantation management.“

http://www.indiacoffee.org/newsletter/2004/nov/ cover_story3.html - Cached

Fresh Cup Magazine (#)

„“The prices were always low, and we began to believe that when you are a small farm, the only options are to sell to the big guys,” she says. “As coffee prices began to plummet and we felt the 40 percent drop from going organic, we knew we could not keep the farm running if we did not receive better prices. More than that, we wanted to find a buyer who would appreciate the attention to detail we paid to our coffee and reward us for our work. When we began a year ago to look for a buyer, most of our fellow farmers said we were too small for anybody to visit us or buy our coffee.”“

http://www.freshcup.com/jun03_transparent.htm - Cached

What Goes Up Might Come Down? (#)

„"It's also benefiting from increased visibility and the growth of coffeehouses." This greater acceptance of coffee has led to a gradual reduction in coffee stocks and a resulting tight supply of coffee. The net effect is higher coffee prices. Coffee producers have yet another ally in the Association of Coffee Producing Countries (ACPC), another set of eyes and ears making sure that those crops are profitable ones.“

http://www.sallys-place.com/beverages/coffee/ whats_goes_up.htm - Cached

clamor (#)

„Conventional coffee prices are at their lowest in a century, even below the cost of production. Farmers have been leaving the fruit to rot on the tree, pulling the kids out of school, abandoning the family land and pouring into the cities to find non-existent work. That’s why, as the most heavily traded commodity after oil, and the most common beverage after water, coffee is a major focus of the fair trade movement.“

http://www.cooperativecoffees.com/about/news/ clamor20.html - Cached

The Coffee Review - the world's leading coffee buying guide (#)

„Doubtless many coffee growers and exporters watch with dismay and perhaps a sense of betrayal as green coffee prices fall to historical lows while retail coffee prices stay about the same. To be explicit, consumers are now paying only a little less now than they did a couple of years ago for roasted coffee, while most growers are paid much, much less than they were back then. For most observers, the issue is not that roasted coffee is overpriced, but that the green coffee is under priced.“

http://www.coffeereview.com/article.cfm?id=76 - Cached

illy caffè North America (#)

„In 2005 more than 12 million people in Ethiopia will depend on food aid in a country of 70 million. Coffee is Ethiopia's hard currency crop and plummeting coffee prices coupled with a debilitating drought have put millions at risk. Even before the current crisis, illy recognized that to ensure a consistent supply of top quality beans, they needed to work directly with farmers to improve their skills and reward quality by paying a premium price. "Ethiopia produces some of the world's best coffee and yet is suffering from severe deprivation," explains Andrea Illy, CEO of illycaffè S.p.A.“

http://www.illyusa.com/pr/cup_of_kindness.htm - Cached

Further Reading and Resources (#)

„A company called Frontier sells herbs, spices and roasted organic coffee. Unfortunately, their coffee starts at $11.15/lb.plus shipping, but they have some very nice articles on shade-grown coffee, the recent turmoil in coffee prices, flavored coffee, sustainable growth, decaffeination, etc. Remember that these are editorials, and many in the coffee business would have valid criticism of them. But I think its good that roasters hold strong opinions about the politics of their trade.“

http://www.sweetmarias.com/reading.html - Cached

Nicaraguan Partners (#)

„I think about the conditions among many of the farmers, the people who are lucky enough to maintain their own land and the more fortunate that are linked into organic and Fair Trade markets. Last year our research showed that farmers linked to alternative markets (Organic and Fair Trade) were four times less likely to feel there was a risk they would loose their farms because of the low coffee prices and bank foreclosures. We just finished a survey of 105 farmers that will reveal some of the differences. I think about the coffee crisis and the 17 women and children who died in these mountains last year.“

http://www.equalexchange.com/partners/ nicaragua2.htm - Cached

Coffee Price Calculations from the ICO (#)

„        During the period from 1 October to 31 January in each coffee year, when information relating to prices of both past and new crop coffees of the above‑mentioned growths is received, the Executive Director shall calculate the arithmetical mean of the prices received for each growth before calculating the arithmetical mean of the growths for each market separately.“

http://www.coffeeresearch.org/market/ pricecalculation.htm - Cached

Virtual Coffee: Feature Articles (#)

„"A lot of certified coffee ends up in the market at conventional prices," acknowledges Christopher Bacon, a doctoral student in environmental studies at the University of California-Santa Cruz who works with coffee cooperatives in Nicaragua. "We've been discussing with growers their decision to become certified, because there is a risk that they won't realize price premium. They need to consider other positive impacts of shade production, such as reducing costs or improving working conditions."“

http://www.virtualcoffee.com/sept_2002/ shade_grown.html - Cached

New York Coffee Exchange Overview (#)

„1) The happy buyer / frustrated coffee producer scenario: A frost occurs July 2nd in Brazil and coffee prices skyrocket to 150 cents/lb. Due to the aforementioned contract the producer must still sell his coffee at the previously agreed upon 100 cents/lb and therefore loses $37,500 (37,500 lbs x 2 units x 0.50 cent loss) compared to what the seller could have received had he or she sold the coffee today.“

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Fairtrade | Publications | Fair Comment | Summer 2003 (#)

„Only a rise in demand for Fairtrade coffee will push this figure higher…and ensure other farmers, like Diego, can join the system. Through Fairtrade farmers’ organisation receive a guaranteed US$1.26 per lb for their coffee, however low coffee prices go on the conventional world market. At present the world price is around 65 cents. Of the US$1.26, five cents is the ‘Fairtrade premium,’ to be used for business or community development programmes.“

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Shade Coffee at the Altar of Sacrifice (INeedCoffee.com) (#)

„Francesca Arhin from Oxfam leads a protest in the City Corporate giants that make huge profits from selling coffee should be forced to pay farmers a decent price, according to the latest campaign from Oxfam. The charity claims that with coffee prices now at a 30-year low, as many as 25 million people who depend on the crop for a living are being forced into poverty. Oxfam is launching a "Coffee Rescue Plan" urging political and business leaders to take immediate action, such as destroying surplus stocks and guaranteeing a fair price for farmers.“

http://www.ineedcoffee.com/04/shadecoffee/ ?page=4 - Cached

The crisis brewing in the coffee world. - coffeecrew.com - victoria, b.c. canada (#)

„Similar experiences have been successful in some areas of East Africa. This way, contends the World Bank, if coffee prices fall then producers will be cushioned by a guaranteed minimum price; if prices rise then they will receive the highest price for their crop. The World Bank's Basic Products Risk Management Group indicated that this could become a model for the region and has pressed its application to local credit organisations. But the Nicaraguan experience, which only extends to 250 producers from Matagalpa, is partly financed by a Swedish corporation.“

http://www.coffeecrew.com/articles/.../ the-crisis-brewing-in-the-coffee-world..html - Cached

International Coffee Organization (#)

„With the current collapse of world coffee prices, many exporting countries are suffering one of their worst economic crises for years. Coffee farmers are experiencing great hardship and the situation is poised to bring real problems of a social and political as well as economic nature. Consumers, on the other hand, are becoming increasingly aware of the downside of the current situation, not least because there is a risk that obtaining high quality coffee will become increasingly difficult in the future.“

http://www.ico.org/activ/quality.htm - Cached

International Coffee Organization (#)

„But the United Nations Food and Agriculture organisation warns that the recovery in prices is 'still fragile and uncertain, and most coffee producing countries continue to struggle'. And the fall in the US dollar has 'tended to offset the advantages that some exporting countries could have gained from the current upturn in coffee prices', says Osorio. He cautions that it is too soon to speak of an end to the crisis which has affected the coffee industry in exporting countries.“

http://www.ico.org/ed/observer.htm - Cached

illy caffè North America (#)

„The worst drought in years has made 13.2 million people dependent on food aid in the country of 67 million. Coffee is the country's hard currency crop and plummeting coffee prices have put millions at risk. Share Our Strength, Save the Children and illy caffè have joined together to benefit the Ethiopian Relief Fund, which provides food aid to millions. On December 16, 2003 Share Our Strength and Save the Children will hold a Taste of Ethiopia fundraiser at the Ethiopian embassy in Washington, DC to benefit the Ethiopian Relief Fund.“

http://www.illyusa.com/pr/ crisis_in_ethiopia.htm - Cached

Tea & Coffee 10/00 - World News (#)

„Athens, Greece - Russian coffee prices are not expected to rise due to panic over cold weather in Brazil, according to the publication New Europe. International Coffee Organization (ICO) managing director Celsius Lodder says that export prices for coffee had gone down considerably over the last couple of years. Even if they do go up this year, they will not affect retail prices or demand for coffee very much, he added.“

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Tea & Coffee 04/02 - World News (#)

„The drop of coffee prices in New York will not lead to a reduction in the cost of instant coffee, said Yuri Snegirev, the marketing director at the company Kraft Foods, which has a coffee packaging plant in the Leningrad region. The raw materials part in the cost of instant coffee is even lower than in the cost of natural coffee, he said. Its final cost in large part is determined by expenditures on production, packaging and transportation.“

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Tiny Joy, a home coffee roasting newsletter from Sweet Maria's Coffee (#)

„I started my own coffee business (after years of managing stores and roasting coffee for others) at a time when the market was quite high. In late ‘97 the New York C Index that determines arabica coffee prices was edging upward of $2.00/lb, yet to hit its peak, and prices for the super-premium coffees was astronomical. And here we are 2 years later and the C has hit a record low. What does this mean?“

http://www.sweetmarias.com/tiny_joy_html/ july-aug01.html - Cached

TINY JOY SEPT OCT 99 (#)

„I amazed to think that I started my own coffee business (after years of managing stores and roasting coffee for other) at the worst possible time. In late '97 the New York C Index that determines arabica coffee prices was edging upward of $2.00/lb, yet to hit its peak, and prices for the premium coffees was astronomical. And here we are 2 years later and the C has hit a record low at 83¢. What does this mean?“

http://www.sweetmarias.com/tiny_joy_html/ tinyjoy.sept-oct99.html - Cached

It's All About Coffee (#)

„"As more people in the United States become aware of the economic realities of coffee-producing countries, they can effect change with their purchases," said Christy Thorns, Allegro's roastmaster and coffee buyer. "We applaud all the coffee companies and agencies striving to make a difference in the lives of coffee growers, whether it's by financial and service donations or by paying higher green coffee prices."“

http://www.aboutcoffee.net/ 2003_06_08_bcearc.html - Cached

Coffee Kids | Community - Oaxaca (#)

„Additionally, they hope to continue theworm-composting and chicken-raising projects. Through the success of these innovative projects, wesee how providing alternatives that allow people to earn a living without being tied to the coffeecrop is essential in a world where coffee prices are determined by the world market rather than thelabor of the coffee farmers. Economic independence should not be a privilege; indeed, it is criticalto human dignity and survival.“

http://www.coffeekids.org/profiles/community/ oaxaca.htm - Cached

Coffee Association of Canada (#)

„That's encouraging for coffee growers around the world who are in the fourth year of what they say is the worst coffee crisis in history. The crisis, caused by a sudden influx of mostly lower-quality producers onto global coffee markets, has plunged coffee prices to historic lows.“

http://www.coffeeassoc.com/recentnews2.htm - Cached

Guatemala (#)

„The principle challenges facing Manos Campesinas today are increasing the demand for their coffee (they only export approximately half of their total production), encouraging the farmers to convert to organic production (their goal is to be 100% certified organic), assisting them to diversify their crops so that they won’t be so hard hit by declining coffee prices, and promoting the active participation of women in the daily life of the cooperatives.“

http://www.equalexchange.com/partners/ guatemala.html - Cached

Coffee Kids | Community - Matagalpa (#)

„By investing in establishing or improving their own small businesses, women in the Matagalpa region are better able to meet their families' most immediate needs, are reducing their dependence on the coffee crop as their sole source of income, and are diversifying and strengthening the local economy. Viable economic alternatives like this one are critical, especially now, due to the volatility of coffee prices, which have recently reached an eight-year low.“

http://www.coffeekids.org/profiles/microcredit/ matagalpa.htm - Cached

Home (#)

„The combined expertise of these producer-growers and our roaster-owners allows Cooperative Coffees to offer the highest quality coffees from these small farmer groups while directly supporting our shared social and environmental philosophies. By trading directly with the farmers, Cooperative Coffees can pay premium prices to the farmers and still offer competitive prices to the roaster-owners.“

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CoffeeGeek - Coffee Crisis:  TechnoServe Releases Fact-Based Industry Analysis (#)

„ There are many ongoing projects to promote the development of new industries, but very few of these specifically aim to promote diversification in coffee-producing regions.  It appears that few diversification efforts exist to date because: there is a concern that diversification products will be abandoned if coffee prices rise; there is no single industry or public organization driving diversification; and there is a preconception“

http://www.coffeegeek.com/resources/pressreleases/ technoservedec42003 - Cached

Meet the Farmers - Coffee Farmers in Crisis - Fair Trade Coffee Project - Lutheran World Relief (#)

„The world’s small-scale coffee farmers are in crisis. Coffee prices have dropped to historic lows. Farmers are trapped at the end of a lengthy and expensive chain of middlemen and little money is left for the people who actually grew the coffee crop. Some farmers are pulling up their coffee crops, unable to survive as small players in an unstable global commodities market.“

http://www.lwr.org/coffee/kcnu/index.asp - Cached

Transfair USA | Fair Trade News (#)

„Under the fair-trade program, farmers receive a guaranteed minimum price of $1.26 per pound for conventionally grown coffee and $1.41 for organically grown coffee. The price of conventionally grown coffee on the international market is about 42 cents per pound while organic coffee prices fluctuate between 65 cents and 85 cents per pound, the groups said.“

http://www.transfairusa.org/content/about/ n_031017.php - Cached

It's All About Coffee (#)

„Coffee prices are currently at their lowest levels in 30 years (the ICO composite indicator stood at 49.65 US cents/lb on 14 April 2003), and in 100 years in real terms. In almost all coffee producing countries, such prices are unable to cover production costs and have led to serious social and economic problems, including increased poverty, indebtedness, and abandonment of coffee farms.“

http://www.aboutcoffee.net/ 2003_04_27_bcearc.html - Cached

Hawaii Coffee Association (#)

„500 million people worldwide involved in the coffee industry. An oversupply of coffee has driven prices to lows and quality is also going down as a result. Roasters are reporting that quality of coffee from Columbia is below standards for roasting as farmers are not able to put proper inputs into the coffee. Recommendation has been made to diversify to other crops in Colombia.“

http://www.hawaiicoffeeassoc.org/ 3_13_2002_minutes.htm - Cached

Fresh Cup Magazine (#)

„   On the philosophical side, each partner has to accept the other’s right to success. As a consumer of equipment, coffeehouse owners are often justifiably skeptical about the prices they are charged for equipment. But with that equipment comes knowledge and the possibility for success that dwarfs the initial cost of the machine. You pay more for a car than for an espresso machine, but don’t expect that car to make you a millionaire.“

http://www.freshcup.com/2005_jan/gear_up.htm - Cached

Tea & Coffee 04/02 - Finding a Path Through a Historic Maze (#)

„In addition the “Valorization” stabilized coffee price created investment interest in Brazil’s Central American competitors. In 1929 the whole Brazilian scheme collapsed, and coffee prices tumbled. Within two years Brazil chose to destroy coffee to prevent it from coming to market. In 1937 Brazil destroyed over 17-million bags of coffee and still another crisis loomed.“

http://www.teaandcoffee.net/0402/coffee.htm - Cached

PR Albertsons teams up with Equal Exchange (#)

„Fair Trade certification guarantees consumers that the coffee they purchase comes from democratically organized cooperatives of small farmers that were paid a just price for their crop. This arrangement stands in contrast to the situation of millions of other coffee farming families who have struggled during the last two years as world coffee prices have reached 100 year lows.“

http://www.equalexchange.com/news_info/ pr1.03.htm - Cached

index (#)

„FAIR-TRADE: Coffee prices are determined by bottom-quality coffee, according to Gary Heine, owner of five Heine Brothers Coffee shops in Louisville. When the price of coffee on the New York commodity market is 60 cents per pound, the farmer might get 25 or 30 cents for his coffee.“

http://www.cooperativecoffees.com/about/news/ courierjournal.html - Cached

Fair Trade Coffee Project - Lutheran World Relief (#)

„Coffee prices are notoriously unstable and in recent years have dropped to historic lows, forcing farmers from Colombia to Tanzania to give up their farms. Many are unable to pay for daily necessities such as medicines, clothing or school fees. Overwhelmed with debt and unable to earn a consistent income in such an unstable market, farmers are moving to the cities or migrating to other countries in search of work.“

http://www.lwr.org/coffee/index.asp - Cached

Office Coffee as Perk (#)

„Daw is still leery of the accountant who surveys an expense print out and notes theincreasing prices for coffee. Our salvation lies in the wisdom of the businessadministrator who knows what coffee does for production. "My hope is that some day wewill be able to quantify objectively the actual increase in worker efficiency inproportion to the coffee consumer.“

http://www.koffeekorner.com/officecoffee.htm - Cached

India coffee - News - Coffee prices firm up further (#)

„Global coffee prices are showing a divergent trend. Arabica prices are firming up slightly, while those of robusta have fallen. According to International Coffee Organisation (ICO), market fundamentals continue to favour an upward trend in arabica prices since prospects of a reduced supply in many exporting countries have become clearer.“

http://www.indiacoffee.org/news/2004/11/ nov14.html - Cached

Tea & Coffee 07/03 - World News (#)

„Vietnam has been blamed for the global slump in coffee prices after entering the market about 10 years ago. It produced a record 900,000 tons in 2000-01 to become the second-biggest international supplier, after Brazil. But Vietnam's success in establishing a leading global coffee industry resulted in prices crashing to a 30-year low in 2001.“

http://www.teaandcoffee.net/0703/world.htm - Cached

Membership Benefits - National Coffee Association (#)

„there's no better way to stay up-to-date on coffee information! The Coffee Reporter is NCA's monthly newsletter packed with timely information regarding the global coffee industry, ICO average indicator prices and retail prices, NCA activities and more. Click on the label on the left for a list of NCA publications.“

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Shade Coffee at the Altar of Sacrifice (INeedCoffee.com) (#)

„The Government should divert the huge sum invested for the development of forest towards growers who are sustaining it. The crash in Coffee Prices may lead to rampant cutting of trees in plantation by all growers for sustaining and for their survival. Also, coffee farmers are guardians to thousands of acres of forests by protecting its biodiversity.“

http://www.ineedcoffee.com/04/shadecoffee/ ?page=2 - Cached

New Page 1 (#)

„Coffee plants exposedto the open sun are more susceptible to disease and require large applicationsof expensive chemicals.  Small farmers can't afford the increased costs. The removal of shade trees eliminates the fuel wood, timber, and fruit cropsthat often serve as insurance for growers when coffee prices are low or whencrops fail.“

http://www.koffeekorner.com/new_page_1.htm - Cached

CoffeeGeek - So You Say There's a Coffee Crisis (#)

„In the simplest terms, people are dying. They are dying because of unbelievably low Grade C global coffee prices, hovering around 40 cents per pound of green beans. That 40 cents per pound translates into as little as 7 or 8 cents per pound that actually gets to the farmer for their labour, their land costs, and their expenses. The farmers are dying from starvation.“

http://www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/markprince/ 11-27-2002 - Cached

Fairtrade | News | Press Release (#)

„Predictions of mass starvation in Ethiopia this week refocus world attention on the droughts that have wrecked the country in recent history. The warnings should also refocus attention on the causes behind the country’s vulnerability in the face of natural disaster – one major cause is poor coffee prices.“

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/pr191102.htm - Cached

Vietnam: Silent Global Coffee Power (INeedCoffee.com) (#)

„National coffee production had been growing steadily by the mid-1990s, but now the stage was set for an agricultural gold rush. With global coffee prices at alluringly high levels, ever-increasing amounts of growth space in the highlands was devoted to coffee shrubs, where they had thrived decades before.“

http://www.ineedcoffee.com/02/04/vietnam/ - Cached

Coffee Universe | World of Coffee (#)

„  Kenya Kenya works diligently to assure quality in all beans that are exported. The coffee is cultivated on small farms, and the growers are rewarded with high prices for quality beans. The main growing region in Kenya extends south of 17,000-foot Mt. Kenya to near the capital of Nairobi.“

http://www.coffeeuniverse.com/ world_coffee_africa.html - Cached

Coffee Kids | 1-800-334-9099 | Helping coffee-growing families (#)

„Unfortunately, the blessings of coffee don't always filter down to the people who grow it. Coffee farmers earn as little as a penny-a-pound for their harvest, and even during the years when crops do well and prices are high, the children of coffee growers go without much that we take for granted.“

http://www.coffeekids.org/ - Cached

Mr. Coffee® - History (#)

„Coffee® brand designs the "Coffee Saver" so consumers could use less coffee in their coffeemaker but still get the full flavor. This was during a period of time when economic prices of coffee tripled.“

http://www.mrcoffee.com/history.aspx - Cached

View topic - I found a great new coffee company online!!! - Coffee Forum (#)

„Does fair trade promote over production? One of the reasons coffee prices are so low is due to the amount of green coffee available. If production stays at very high levels, what happens to the price? Basic economics says price in a free market is dictated by supply and demand.“

http://www.coffeeforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=586 - Cached

Lutherans Pursue Good Coffee, Fairly - Fair Trade Coffee Project - Lutheran World Relief (#)

„Meier said the benefit for the consumer is "a high-quality product" in exchange for their consumer dollar, and added that the quality standards for fair trade coffee are much higher than for the "canned" coffee available for lower prices.“

http://www.lwr.org/coffee/elcanr.asp - Cached

CoffeeGeek - The Basics of Ethical Coffees (#)

„The important part is to pay a little attention to where your money goes. Major movements to address the economic impact of coffee prices are relationship coffee, Far Trade coffee, and fairly traded coffee.“

http://www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/cafestage/ 11-22-2002 - Cached

Timeforcoffee.com (#)

„The objective of the Cup aid of Excellence is to promote the Salvadoran grain and to promote the image of the country like producer of world-wide quality. In similar events made in Nicaragua, the quintal of auctioned coffee reached prices of between $300 to $1500 by quintal.“

http://www.timeforcoffee.com/coffeetime/ news.asp?id=2 - Cached

TransFair Canada: Make a Difference (#)

„Write a letter to the editor. When you read an article about world trade, globalization, depressed coffee prices or other commodities and industries where the farmers and workers are suffering in poverty, suggest Fair Trade Certification as a viable and proven solution.“

http://www.transfair.ca/en/products/difference/ - Cached

ICAFE (#)

„The Chamber speaks out for the coffee industry in the political arena, fighting to protect coffee prices and to ensure that coffee producers are treated fairly by the tax authorities.“

http://www.icafe.go.cr/icafe/ camara_cafetaleros_eng.htm - Cached

ICAFE (#)

„The program is conceived as a medium-term investment the returns of which would be obtained from the development and consolidation of new market niches with improved differential prices for Costa Rican coffee.“

http://www.icafe.go.cr/icafe/esto_nuevo_eng.htm - Cached

Hawaii Coffee Association (#)

„Kona’s rich tradition and excellent coffee continues to increase demand. Coffee buyers have pushed Kona prices up in recent years, and made it one of the highest priced coffees in the world.“

http://www.hawaiicoffeeassoc.org/kona.htm - Cached

BBC NEWS | Business | Kenyan coffee faces tough 2003 (#)

„In a regular report to Washington DC, the USDA attache in Nairobi said that production in the 2002-3 financial year would barely top that of the year before, and low world coffee prices will continue to make farmers' lives difficult.“

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2950971.stm - Cached

How to use Peet's Coffee Selector (#)

„Tired of lists? Peet's Coffee Selector presents all of Peet's coffee on a single screen, and lets you compare prices and features without having to scroll or flip back and forth between Web pages.“

http://www.peets.com/selector_coffee/ coffee_selector_help.asp - Cached

India coffee - News - Rise in coffee prices not enough, feel growers (#)

„Coffee prices in the country have seen a steady increase over the last few years tracking global market conditions, but growers feel that the uptrend is not enough to check their mounting debt piles.“

http://www.indiacoffee.org/news/2004/11/ nov4.html - Cached

Coffee Market Analysis Links (#)

„Binews (binews.com ) - A straightforward, but very useful site with daily information about the coffee market and coffee prices.“

http://www.coffeeresearch.org/market/ analysislinks.htm - Cached

Sweet Maria's Small But Important Donation Program (#)

„The Latest: See our note below about the excellent OXFAM International report on the abysmal world coffee prices and suggestions for a course of action.“

http://www.sweetmarias.com/donations.html - Cached

index (#)

„• Improving the potential of the cooperative members to sell their coffee at "fair prices" both nationally and internationally“

http://www.cooperativecoffees.com/producers/mexico/ mutvitz.html - Cached

1900's (#)

„1989: World coffee prices plunged when participating nations failed to sign a new International Coffee Agreement in 1989.“

http://www.britishcoffeeassociation.org/ id121.htm - Cached

International Coffee Organization (#)

„Coffee prices  l   Trade statistics  l  Library   l  Events/Meetings   l  Top of page“

http://www.ico.org/activ/studies.htm - Cached

Coffee Quiz (#)

„Because of the short supply and high demand, coffee prices soared to over a pound in he American colonies during the late 1600s.“

http://www.coffeeuniverse.com/quiz.html - Cached

Coffee (#)

„Elaine Sosa discusses the supply-demand economic theory and other acts of God that drive coffee prices skyward.“

http://www.sallys-place.com/beverages/coffee/ coffee.htm - Cached

It's All About Coffee (#)

„For most of the 1990s, production was lower than consumption, keeping coffee prices relatively buoyant.“

http://www.aboutcoffee.net/ 2003_08_03_bcearc.html - Cached

Coffee Beans & Espresso Beans - Coffee Forum (#)

„Coffee Prices on the rise“

http://www.coffeeforums.com/viewforum.php?f=5 - Cached