Poor Farmer

Inside the New York Coffee Exchange Source: Coffee Research Institute via coffeeresearch.org There are two markets for coffee: the cash market and the futures market. The cash market is the market today. It is the price you would pay for coffee today if you could receive it today. The futures market is used to help determine the price for future deliveries. It is used to purchase a contract today to guarantee a future shipment of coffee. More importantly, however, the futures market for commodities like coffee is used to help protect against the wild variations that occur due to coffee market speculation. The latter reason will be explained in further detail through the help of an example. Futures Market: Coffee Exchange Analysis Assume it is currently May and assume the “C” market price for July shipment is at 95 cents/lb. Now pretend that today a coffee producer sells two units of coffee (1 unit = 37,500 lbs) to a coffee roaster or importer for 5 cents/lb over the “C.” The cof...

16 Part Curriculum For Grades 4 Through 9 Also Covers Cooperative Economics CSRwire January 16, 2008 WEST BRIDGEWATER, MA - In response to hundreds of requests from parents and teachers the Fair Trade pioneer Equal Exchange introduced today one of the first comprehensive Fair Trade curricula in the U.S. "Win Win Solutions: An Introduction to Fair Trade and Cooperative Economics" is designed for grades 4 through 9 and raises awareness of core issues concerning food production and global trade, and of the role of American consumers. The curriculum helps to demonstrate the link between personal actions and community efforts to create a more just and sustainable world. Win Win Solutions' four units and 16 classes incorporate participatory methods and satisfy many basic U.S. curriculum standards including Social Studies, Geography, Math, and Economics. "After 20 years of talking to and educating American coffee drinkers about Fair Trade, it's time we talked and listen...

By Issayas Mekuria Addis Fortune January 13, 2008 Thirty-three fledgling commercial coffee farms have established their own association - the Ethiopian Coffee Growers, Producers and Exporters Association - in a bid to sell their products directly to foreign importers without paying a cut to middlemen. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) granted a certificate in recognition of the Association on December 6, 2007. The Association, comprised mostly of new farms, hopes to bring a landmark change to Ethiopia's export coffee business. Currently, producers sell their product to suppliers, facilitated by middlemen who exact commission, and then on to government auction centres. Finally, exporters buy at auctions and sell to foreign importers. Coffee leaves Ethiopian farmers about 17 cents per kilo, but nets the country on average 1.20 dollars per kilo. The Association hopes to narrow that gap. "The trouble of farmers is not only Starbucks; exporters, brokers and policies and rules of the go...