The Coffee Crisis

In more than 50 countries around the world, 25 million coffee farmers and their families face deep poverty and misery due to a drastic fall in world coffee prices. The price paid to farmers has fallen by more than 70% over the past five years. Taking inflation into account, families are earning less for their product than their ancestors did 100 years ago.

This crisis has been brought on by a worldwide oversupply of coffee that allows coffee corporations to buy beans at rock bottom prices - prices so low that they don't even begin to cover the costs of production. This means that many farmers in the third world are poor and are getting poorer.

Fairtrade - Not Aid

The idea behind Fairtrade is simple: coffee and tea farmers in the developing world have the right to a decent standard of living, and to be treated as equals by consumers in the West. The farmers do not need aid to achieve this; they need only to be paid a fair price for the goods they produce. In the current climate Fairtrade has become a lifeline for many producers. 

 At the heart of Fairtrade is a central principle: a commitment to pay farmers a fair price – one that covers costs and is stable. For example Arabica coffee bean farmers are paid a minimum of $1.26/lb which is well over double the market price. Fairtrade makes a real difference to people’s lives. It challenges the conventional mode of trade, and offers a progressive alternative for a sustainable future.

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