Poor Farmer

Oxfam America Press Release 29 January 2007 For more information, contact:Helen DaSilva, Press Officer 617-728-2409 617-331-2984 (mobile) hdasilva@oxfamamerica.org BOSTON -- Today's announcement that Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has agreed to work closely with Ethiopia to raise the value that Ethiopian farmers receive from their coffees is a welcome first step that other companies should follow, says international agency Oxfam. The formal Letter of Intent between Green Mountain -- a major coffee roaster and distributor in the US -- and Ethiopia "is an initiative made in good faith between a major company, the government, and a national stakeholder group that includes farmer cooperatives," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. "Developing countries need greater control over their own agricultural markets in order to negotiate a fair return from the quality and reputation of their products. Coffee companies that expect to thrive in a global market ...

Starbucks has just hired a lobbying firm, the Rosa Whitaker Group , to advance the company’s interests internationally, most particularly in Africa. Rosa Whitaker was the Assistant US Trade Representative for Africa under both Presidents Clinton and Bush Administrations before she left to form her lobbying group in 2002. For now, Ethiopia is the primary focus of Starbucks, thus the need for a well connected new lobbying firm. Rosa Whitaker will attend the 4th African Fine Coffee Conference & Exhibition, 15th-17th February, 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on behalf of Starbucks. More to come soon.

Douglas B. Holt* 26 January 2007 The Starbucks Corporation is working with its lobbying group, the National Coffee Association (NCA), to block efforts by a coalition of Ethiopian coffee producers to secure US trademarks on two of Ethiopia’s most valuable coffee brands—Sidamo and Harrar. [1] Ethiopia’s coffee coalition wants to own the trademarks in order to increase profits on these brands, which could substantially raise the incomes of the estimated 6 million Ethiopians who are dependent on the fine coffee trade. The coalition has successfully registered the trademarks for Sidamo, Harrar and Yirgacheffe in other important markets including the EU and Canada. The coalition was able to get Yirgacheffe approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) before Starbucks and the NCA had time to act. Following the approval of Yirgacheffe, the NCA filed Letters of Protest—legal documents exceeding 400 pages—against the registration of both Sidamo and Harrar. On the basis of this protest...

This week, Coffee Politics highlighted information suggesting as though a meeting between Starbucks experts, NCA, Ethiopian government officials, and representatives of cooperatives was going to be held in Geneva. The information was based on this report which has now proved to be inaccurate as it was based on an outdated statement. Though there was an idea suggested by Starbucks in December 2006 to hold a meeting in Geneva, there is no such plan at the moment.

A must-read analysis by Oxford Marketing Professor, Douglas B. Holt (Originally posted here with permission from the author on Nov 17, 2006) On this page, also read the following: Ethiopia presents an early test to Starbucks’ 2007 growth strategies   Storm in a coffee cup: Starbucks defends itself over Oxfam campaign   Feel Good: Only 94% of Our Coffee is Unfairly Traded The Unfortunate Trio Blend: Starbucks, Black Gold, Ethiopia   Brand Hypocrisy at Starbucks by Douglas B. Holt Download this article here (PDF). Efforts by the Ethiopian coffee sector to trademark Ethiopia’s most valuable coffee brands have come to a screeching halt, courtesy of The Starbucks Corporation. The coffee sector is pursuing trademarks in all major international markets on Sidamo, Yirgecheffe, and Harrar so that they can then apply sound marketing techniques to increase the commercial value of these brands. The goal is to significantly raise the incomes of many of the 15 millio...

By Wondwossen Mezlekia According to online sources, Starbucks’ growth strategy for 2007 is three-dimensional - store expansion, product development, and Socially & Environmentally Responsible (SER) coffee purchasing. Starbucks CEO Jim Donald reportedly stressed, during the fourth-quarter conference call, that purchasing socially and environmentally friendly coffee is as important an initiative as the other two. We will have to live and see whether Donald’s promises translate into practice but it is apparent, right from the onset, that the ongoing dispute between Starbucks and Ethiopian coffee farmers is a lead up to testing the strategy and Starbucks’ commitment to live up to its words. Though none of the strategies are new, in my view, Social & Environmental Responsibility (SER) continues to be the pillar and a challenge for Starbucks as long as coffee is the core of the business because of the importance of sustainability of supply. Market data indicate that Starbucks stands ...

Ashley Seager Friday January 19, 2007 The Guardian Starbucks, the US coffee giant, yesterday hit back at critics who have accused it of not doing enough to help coffee growers in poor countries. The group said it had sharply increased the average price it paid for its coffee last year. But it acknowledged it had not reached any agreement with Ethiopia over a trademark dispute which has prompted thousands of people around the world to write in protest to the company's chief executive, Jim Donald. Starbucks said it had raised the average price it paid for coffee in its fiscal year to last October to $1.42 (72p) a pound, 37% above the industry coffee price over the period and 11% more than it had paid in 2005. It also said it had doubled to 155m lbs the amount of coffee it bought through the independently verified coffee sourcing and purchasing guidelines known as CAFE. This type of coffee now accounts for 53% of all the company's coffee. The company's coffee bill was about $4...