Poor Farmer

On February 27, 2007, the International Development Committee of the UK Parliament House of Commons heard evidence from Starbucks senior officials and others on various public questions. (The transcript was posted here in four parts.) Last week, I forwarded follow-up questions and request for interviews to Starbucks, TransFair USA, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR), and others. Yesterday, after Part IV of the script was published, I received Starbucks’ agreement for an interview; therefore, I will present their views as soon as it is made available. I also expect a response from TransFair USA. Meanwhile, as Starbucks’ major competitor that has agreed to recognize Ethiopia’s ownership of her coffee marks, it would be curious to know what the GMCR would have responded to the questions raised by the Members of Parliament had the company been given the opportunity to present its case. So I asked GMCR about their Fair Trade credentials and the company’s relationship and future plans to...

CQ WEEKLY – VANTAGE POINT March 12, 2007 – Page 698 By Shawn Zeller, CQ Staff Coffee giant Starbucks prides itself on serving its product with a generous helping of good corporate citizenship. Among other things, it champions “fair trade” coffee harvested under environmentally friendly conditions and with better pay scales than producers can realize under most global trade accords. But last fall, the human rights group Oxfam International took direct aim at that image, publicizing the company’s dispute with the impoverished nation of over whether the East African country could trademark the names of its high-quality coffee beans. That dispute continues to percolate, but Starbucks is now fighting back with its own public relations push, scheduled to hit Washington this week. Starbucks senior vice president for corporate social responsibility, Sandra Taylor, and its senior vice president for coffee and global procurement, Dub Hay, will be meeting with ambassadors from African countries a...

Part IV of the transcript taken during the UK Members of Parliament questioning of Starbucks and others. This is the final part in the series. Preceding posts: Part I, " Parliament Grilled Starbucks over Ethiopia's Trademark Issue " Part II, " MPs Explore Starbucks' Fair Trade® Credentials " Part III, " MPs Stumble On The Hot Spot: How Fair Is Starbucks ? " Starbucks senior VP, Sandra Taylor did not respond to my request for an interview with follow-up questions. I approached the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) with similar questions. The company responded with detailed explanation of their Fair Trade practices and longstanding relationships with coffee farmers. GMCR is one the US companies that have recognized Ethiopia’s ownership of her coffee marks. Recently, GMCR signed a Letter of Intent with the Government of Ethiopia to support this country's efforts to bring better value to its coffee and better income to its coffee farmers and th...

Part III of the transcript taken during the UK Members of Parliament questioning of Starbucks and others. Preceding posts : Part I, " Parliament Grilled Starbucks over Ethiopia's Trademark Issue " Part II, " MPs Explore Starbucks' Fair Trade® Credentials " ------------------ UNCORRECTED TRANSCRIPT OF ORAL EVIDENCE To be published as HC 356-i House of COMMONS MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE FAIR TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT Tuesday 27 February 2007 MS SANDRA TAYLOR, MR CLIFF BURROWS and MR MIKE BARRY Evidence heard in Public Questions 1 - 82 Oral Evidence Taken before the International Development Committee on Tuesday 27 February 2007 Members present Malcolm Bruce, in the Chair John Barrett John Battle John Bercow Richard Burden James Duddridge Ann McKechin Joan Ruddock Mr Marsha Singh Examination of Witnesses Witnesses: Ms Sandra Taylor, Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility, Starbucks Coffee Company, Mr Cliff...

Cafédirect to go head to head with US cappuccino giant The Independent By Danny Fortson and Lauren Veevers Published: 11 March 2007 Selecting a coffee can be a complicated affair: American-owned outlets have introduced a generation of Britons to all sorts of often baffling sizes, types and milk-fat combinations. Now, though, all this is about to boil down to one key choice: would you like your coffee with ethical feelgood factor to go? Cafédirect, the UK's largest Fairtrade hot drinks company, is planning to roll out a network of city-centre bars, sparking coffee wars on British high streets. With the UK Fairtrade market soaring to the £200m mark, the company is seeking to challenge the omnipresent Starbucks, criticised last year for its alleged unfair bargaining with Ethiopian coffee farmers. Penny Newman, chief executive of Cafédirect, said: "We want to get our message across, and a coffee bar is a good way to do that." Part of the profits from the stores will be sent b...

"Shame on Starbucks, whose revenues in 2005 were $6.4 billion, for trying to strong-arm a country whose entire gross domestic product is $6 billion. That's unfortunate. Those folks could use an uplifting experience or two, not to mention a little enrichment." - Huston Chronicle Editorial ------------------ Starbucks vs. Ethiopia American behemoth still lukewarm to Ethiopa's efforts to secure fairer coffee bean prices. Houston Chronicle March 9, 2007, 8:54PM It's a long way — both figuratively and literally — from Seattle, home of upscale coffee-shop giant Starbucks, to Ethiopia, hard-scrabble birthplace of the coffee bean. Ethiopia is one of the oldest, poorest nations in the world, and more than 80 percent of the population are engaged in agriculture, mainly subsistence farming. But that didn't stop the mighty Starbucks from reaching out and slapping the upstart African nation when it tried to secure fairer prices for its coffee beans. Two years ago, Ethiopi...

By: Tebabu Assefa and Tamiru Degefa Global Coffee Market and Coffee Crisis Coffee is one of the most highly traded commodities in the world, second only to oil. The trade of coffee generates $80 billion every year in the global market, and that amount is growing. In 2001, coffee prices on the global market hit a 30-year low, and a humanitarian crisis ensued for the 25 million coffee farmers and families around the world, including many in Ethiopia. The fall in revenue has affected the income small farmers earned for the 'fruit of their labor" As a result, the farmers are unable to send their children to school and could not afford to pay for their basic needs. However, from the retail sides demand for coffee has risen and the coffee industry has shown remarkable profit. For example, Starbucks, an 8 billion dollar a year company, was able to sell Ethiopian Harar coffee for $26.00 per pound, whereas the farmer only received between $0.60 and $1.10 per pound and only 3 cents goes...