EQUAL Exchange, the Edinburgh-based Fairtrade and organic food pioneer, is to be the first licensed distributor for speciality Ethiopian coffee in the UK under a new trading deal set to benefit the world's poorest farmers.
Newly established trademarks on speciality Ethiopian coffees, which have sparked controversy in the United States and were originally contested by Starbucks, mean that from September only licensed distributors will be able to sell certain coffees in the UK.
And Equal's Yirgacheffe ground coffee will become the first to be licensed under the Ethiopian Coffee and Trademarking Initiative on September 5.
While the initiative is unlikely to boost Equal's bottom line to any significant extent, managing director Andy Good said he was proud to be in the scheme.
"It's a big breakthrough for a developing country to use international trade rules, which often work against poor producers, to benefit small-scale farmers.
"The trademark agreements allow the Ethiopian coffee industry to take control of its very valuable products through the intellectual property system. It sets an important precedent in new ways of looking at trade."
Newly established trademarks on speciality Ethiopian coffees, which have sparked controversy in the United States and were originally contested by Starbucks, mean that from September only licensed distributors will be able to sell certain coffees in the UK.
And Equal's Yirgacheffe ground coffee will become the first to be licensed under the Ethiopian Coffee and Trademarking Initiative on September 5.
While the initiative is unlikely to boost Equal's bottom line to any significant extent, managing director Andy Good said he was proud to be in the scheme.
"It's a big breakthrough for a developing country to use international trade rules, which often work against poor producers, to benefit small-scale farmers.
"The trademark agreements allow the Ethiopian coffee industry to take control of its very valuable products through the intellectual property system. It sets an important precedent in new ways of looking at trade."
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