Fair-trade-certified
coffee beans follow a route from producing countries to the United States
that is different from the route traveled by other coffee beans. Fair
trade coffee passes through fewer hands, eliminating coyotes and other
intermediaries from the supply chain, and brings growers in direct contact
with importers and roasters. Growers of fair trade coffee beans work in
a cooperative. If they meet certain standards set by fair trade organizations,
growers are guaranteed a floor price of at least $1.26 per pound for raw
beans -- compared with the 50 cents or less that most other growers get
per pound.
While
fair trade may tip the balance of profits for some coffee growers, most
experts agree that it's not the panacea for the global coffee glut.
Oxfam, an international relief organization, has argued for more comprehensive
approaches, including international market management, to correct the
structural imbalances in the industry. The group also has called upon
major coffee roasting companies to finance a program to destroy millions
of bags of the world's lowest-quality coffee beans and address the massive
oversupply of coffee. The roasters, in turn, advocate increased coffee
consumption, especially in the Third World.
Meanwhile,
the fair trade coffee market is growing. In 2001, U.S. sales rose 36
percent, and now more than 7,000 retail outlets across the country sell
fair trade coffee, including Safeway and retailers such as Peet's and
Starbucks. Even megaroaster Sara Lee now offers fair trade coffee to
some of its institutional customers. But fair trade coffee still only
makes up a tiny fraction of these companies' sales and just 2 percent
of the U.S. specialty market.
close
window
|
