Poor Farmer

ECX's upcoming procurement bid By Wondwossen Mezlekia November 28, 2012 The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) is currently conducting a high-ticket international procurement - the first of its kind since a multi-million dollar bid was busted in 2010 due to alleged fraud and corruption during the bidding process. The bid for the supply, installation, and maintenance of a futures trading software that ECX floated back in 2010 was marred by dishonest maneuvering, seemingly to favor the Sri Lanka based company, Millennium IT, and World Bank withdrew ECX's award proposal and cancelled the loan. The loan was part of what the government had borrowed from International Development Association (IDA) for the purposes of financing the Rural Capacity Building project. [1] Strangely, the said futures trading software was not needed to begin with and would have been running idle today had ECX purchased it in 2010, because the government is, as it has always been, decidedly...

By Emma O'Connor TIME November 25, 2012 Coffee Maker : Gourmands the world over savor the flavor of the coffee known in Indonesia as Kopi Luwak. The coffee gets its taste from coffee berries that the luwak, a kind of civet consumes and then excretes in its stool.  Photo credit: Paula Bronstein / Getty Images via TIME Civet coffee, or Kopi Luwat, was described as the “ rarest beverage in the world ” in the 2007 film  The   Bucket List , and it retails for  £70  ($105) a cup in  London —but a less-than-glamorous scandal may be brewing for the drink. The globe’s most expensive java, which is made from the feces of cat-like mammals called Asian palm  civets , is raising concern among animal welfare organizations,  the  Guardian  reports . Producers of Kopi Luwat, based primarily in  Indonesia , are facing accusations of “ horrific ” abuse against the civets, who are kept in cages and fed a diet comprise...

By J.F. The Economist November 22, 2012 YOUNGER Americans will have to take our word for it: there was a time, way back when Ronald Reagan was president, when your countrymen ordered coffee by simply asking for “coffee”. Ordering a “venti skinny chai latte” or a “grande chocolate cookie crumble frappuccino” would have earned, at best, a blank stare. But that was before Howard Schultz took Starbucks from a single coffeehouse in downtown Seattle to a chain with more than 17,000 shops in 55 countries. The chain grew so quickly, and in some areas seemed so ubiquitous, that as early as 1998 a headline in   The Onion , a satirical American newspaper, joked, “New Starbucks Opens in Rest Room of Existing Starbucks”. After suffering through lean years in 2008 and 2009, the company is again going strong. In the 2011 fiscal year the company served 60m customers per week—more than ever. It also had its highest-ever earnings-per-share ($1.62) and global net revenue ($11.7 billio...

By  Todd Wallack The Boston Globe November 23, 2012 Dunkin’ Donuts won’t be able to claim exclusive­ rights to the phrase “Best Coffee in America.” The Patent and Trademark Office has tentatively   rejected   the Canton-based chain’s efforts to trademark the slogan, saying it is not distinctive enough to qualify for protection. The slogan “is merely laudatory and descriptive,” the agency ruled recently. “Anyone at all can claim that their coffee is the ‘Best Coffee in America,’ ” said a Newton trademark attorney, Zick Rubin. “No one takes such a claim literally, and no one company can monopolize the phrase.” Both Rubin and the trademark office­ noted the ruling has an obvious precedent. The maker of Sam Adams beer, Boston Beer Co., tried to trademark a similar slogan, “The Best Beer in America.” But the trademark office turned down the request, and an appellate court   upheld   the decision in 1999. The Boston brewer has continued to use ...

By Josephine Mason Reuters November 21, 2012 NEW YORK, Nov 21 (Reuters) - A combination of short memories and old coffee has fueled an unprecedented sell-off in benchmark arabica   futures this week, as changes made two years ago to the age and quality of beans deliverable against the ICE   Futures   contract finally come into effect. On Tuesday, the day before the first notice day for December coffee futures , that contract plunged over 5 percent and its discount versus March beans flared out to almost 9 cents per lb, the largest in 18 years, as traders who were long the contract rushed to dump it rather than roll into the next month. Rolling would mean selling the discounted spot and buying March at a big premium. While the spot prices recovered slightly on Wednesday, the big discount to March remained in place at 8.4 cents. A major reason for the selling of December is because new rules come into effect with the March contract, which will hike ...

By Associated Press via The Washington Post November 20, 2012 WATERBURY, Vt. — Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. has picked a new CEO, Coca-Cola executive Brian Kelley, as the coffee company deals with slowing sales growth. Kelley, 51, will also become president and join the board, effective Dec. 3. The stock climbed 12 percent in premarket trading Tuesday. Green Mountain Coffee’s current CEO, Lawrence Blanford, had said in February that he planned to retire. He took over as the Waterbury, Vt., company’s chief executive from its founder, Robert Stiller, in 2007. A pioneer of single-serve coffee in the U.S. with its Keurig machines, Green Mountain Coffee grew quickly on their popularity. But the company has struggled as patents on technology for its K-Cups expired and competitors released their own single-serve coffee makers — including coffee chain giant Starbucks Corp. Green Mountain Coffee has said that its sales growth will moderate from the fast...

Source:  FDA November 15, 2012 - Berres Brothers, Inc. of Watertown, Wisconsin is recalling: Berres Brothers Coffee Roasters, Chocolate & Peanut Butter and Berres Brother Coffee Roasters, Monkey Mocha and Berres Brothers Lunch with Elvis regular and decaffeinated whole bean and ground coffees. The reason for this recall/alert is because these products may contain an undeclared nut allergen. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to walnuts run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products. Berres Brothers Coffee Roaster's, Monkey Mocha, Brothers Coffee Roasters, Chocolate & Peanut Butter and Berres Brothers Lunch with Elvis coffees were distributed throughout the United States and Guam, through grocery stores and mail order. The following flavors, sizes and Julian date codes are being recalled. Julian date code is either stamped after UPC Code or on front of package. 1.      Berr...

Note from Wondwossen: This report appears to initially imply that the departure of the coffee auction center's (ECX) former CEO has something got to do with one of the major problems that the coffee chain is facing, namely inadequate coffee inspection logistics, but failed to explain the connection. In fact, the problem is a systemic issue that has been affecting the sector and cost business operators dearly from day one. Ironically, the problem could easily be minimized by distributing portable laboratory equipment to - and educating - transporters and suppliers of the impacts of higher moisture levels in green coffee bags, and by devising a process that will prevent the corrupt process at ECX centers where some suppliers apparently manage to sneak in stocks of coffees with a higher than acceptable moisture level. The average cost of an SCAA approved capacitance metering is $300, which is affordable by ECX and worth the investment considering the inconvenience and cost inc...

By Debbie Cai The Wall Street Journal November 12, 2012 Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc. named   Weight Watchers International   Inc.   executive David Burwick as its new chief executive and president, just weeks after the struggling coffee seller was taken private. Mr. Burwick will succeed Patrick O'Dea, who is stepping down after more than a decade as Peet's president and CEO. Mr. O'Dea will continue as a member of the board. Mr. Burwick, who most recently served as president of North America for Weight Watchers, has more and two decades of experience in beverage and retail operations. Before Weight Watchers, he served in senior roles at   PepsiCo   Inc. Mr. Burwick's appointment is effective Dec. 31. Peet's was taken private two weeks ago by German investment group Joh. A. Benckiser for about $1 billion. The company, which is focused on the bagged-coffee segment, has struggled with higher coffee-bean costs in recent months. Peet's has a...

Note from Wondwossen : an depth analysis on the state of Ethiopia's coffee sector, including this USAID-sponsored event is forthcoming on this blog. --- Waltainfo (the ruling party's primary news outlet) November 9, 2012 Addis Ababa, November 9, 2012 (WIC)   - The first International Conference on Ethiopian Coffee aimed at enhancing the position of Ethiopian coffee in the international market through exchange of information and sharing of best practices opened on Thursday in Addis Ababa. The Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Association (ECEA) in collaboration with Ministry of Trade, USAID and Commercial Bank of Ethiopia organized the two-day conference under the theme: Strengthening the Legacy of Our Coffee. The conference is expected to address key opportunities and challenges facing the coffee sector and promote the uniqueness of Ethiopian coffee. Addressing the conference, Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn said coffee is livelihood for more than 15 m...

By Allison Aubrey NPR November 07, 2012   1:37 PM These four women are at the forefront of change, empowering other  women in the coffee industry (clockwise from top left): Angele Ciza, Fatima Aziz Faraji, Immy Kamarade and Mbula Musau. Photo: Karen Castillo Farfán / NPR If you're a coffee drinker, chances are the cup of java you drank this morning was made from beans that were produced or harvested by women. Women's handprints can be found at every point in coffee production. In fact, on family-owned coffee farms in Africa, about 70 percent of maintenance and harvesting work is done by women, according to an  analysis  by the International Trade Centre, but only rarely do women own the land or have financial control. The  International Women's Coffee Alliance  (IWCA) is trying to change that by giving them access to training and networking, and the opportunity to develop new trade relationships. We sat down recently wi...