Poor Farmer

By Dominique Patton Business Daily Africa October 15, 2007 Success of coffee houses like Starbucks is fuelling a shift to premium coffee in the US. The addictive ‘coffeehouse experience’ is increasingly persuading Americans to buy brands like Starbucks, Caribou and Peet’s instead of opting for traditional names like Maxwell House. This shift also means that they are prepared to pay more for premium brands, according to a new report from consumer research firm Mintel. Coffeehouse sales increased by 28 per cent in the two years to 2006. “ As a result of coffeehouse expansion and increased use, consumers have been exposed to a variety of coffees — raising the bar on consumer expectations on taste and quality, and creating the desire for taste experiences they wish to emulate at home,” say the authors. Retail brands are seeking a share of the premium trend too. Folgers launched a gourmet selection in eight varieties last year, priced at $6.39 per pound. Fair trade coffee is also seeing str...

US Company to Invest USD 50mln in Coffee Farm, Roasting Facility By Hayal Alemayehu Ethiopian Reporter October 13, 2007 B&D Food Corporation, an American-based company, is set to invest USD 50 million in coffee farm and erection of a roasting facility in Ethiopia under its recently established subsidiary, BDFC Ethiopia Industry PLC. The company has already secured 5,000 hectares of coffee farm in Jimma, Oromia region, on which it will be producing “high quality” Ethiopian coffee, company representative Benjamin Petel told The Reporter in a statement on Sunday. BDFC Ethiopia will also erect a coffee roasting facility around the coffee farm site, which had last week been handed over to it by the Oromia Investment Commission. Presently, the company is finalizing preparation to embark upon the project. “BDFC Ethiopia intends to begin planting in the coming months and, in parallel, is working on building a processing factory on the plantation grounds,” Petel said. “B&D hopes to proc...

Roasted coffee beans are displayed by an employee of a shop which sells the Arabica and Robusta varieties of coffee, in Jakarta on Jan. 17, 2007. Photographer: Ng Swan Ti/Bloomberg News By Danielle Rossingh Bloomberg October 12, 2007 Robusta coffee rose to a 10-year high in London on concern that drought in Brazil and possible floods in Vietnam will curb supplies from the world's biggest growers. Brazil's main coffee-growing regions of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais are unlikely to see much rain in the next seven days, U.S. weather forecaster Meteorlogix LLC said in a report yesterday. Rain in Vietnam's southern coffee belt may mean flooding, the forecaster said. ``The weather in Brazil is dry, dry, dry,'' Jeff Cooper, an analyst at Ambrian Commodities Ltd. in London, said by phone today. The market is ``all weather driven.'' The price of robusta beans, used to make espresso and instant coffee, has gained more than 46 percent in a year, threatening to crimp prof...

By CRAIG HARRIS Seattle PI October 8, 2007 Whether it's a new drink, a music deal or a movie promotion, Starbucks says it constantly strives to "surprise and delight" its customers. But it was investors who got the surprise, and little delight, as the share price dropped 23 percent during a one-year period that ended Sept. 30, the end of the company's fiscal year. During the same time, the S&P 500 Index, of which Starbucks is a member, gained 16.5 percent, including dividends. David Palmer, an analyst with UBS Securities in New York, said Starbucks desperately needs some "brand buzz" to turn things around. "What can help them? Basically, executing," Palmer said. "Is having a breakfast sandwich and the second year of a pumpkin spice latte all I have to look forward to, or can they come up with something more exciting?" While Wall Street has pummeled Starbucks in the past year, the coffee company remains profitable and has launched num...

Rafael de Paiva, right, said that fair trade coffee farming has helped his family "create a decent living." (Lalo de Almeida for The New York Times.) Courtesy of International Herald Tribune. By Andrew Downie International Herald Tribune Monday, October 1, 2007 VARGINHA, Brazil: Rafael de Paiva was skeptical at first. If he wanted a "fair trade" certification for his coffee crop, the Brazilian farmer would have to adhere to a long list of rules on pesticides, farming techniques, recycling and other matters. He even had to enroll his children in school. "I thought, 'This is difficult,' " Paiva recalled. But the 20 percent premium he recently received for his first fair trade harvest made the effort worthwhile, he said, adding that it "helped us create a decent living." More farmers are likely to see similar offers as importers and retailers rush to meet growing demands from consumers and advocates to adhere to stricter environmental and so...

Starbucks calls its coffee worker-friendly -- but in Ethiopia, a day's pay is a dollar By Tom Knudson - Bee Staff Writer Sacramento Bee September 23, 2007 Ethiopians cross a concrete footbridge financed by Starbucks in the coffee-producing Sidamo region. "If we are paid a (coffee) price which is decent, the people can make the bridge on their own," said Tadesse Meskela, a farmers cooperative manager. Photo & article: Courtesy of Sacramento Bee /Tom Knudson GEMADRO, Ethiopia -- Tucked inside a fancy black box, the $26-a-pound Starbucks Black Apron Exclusives coffee promised to be more than just another bag of beans. Not only was the premium coffee from a remote plantation in Ethiopia "rare, exotic, cherished," according to Starbucks advertising, it was grown in ways that were good for the environment -- and for local people, too. Companies routinely boast about what they're doing for the planet, in part because guilt-ridden consumers expect as much -- an...

By Tia Goldenberg Monsters and Critics Sep 22, 2007 Addis Ababa - In one of Addis Ababa's bustling and noisy coffee shops, where cups are clinking and the bubbling sound of a cappuccino machine undertones conversations, Ethiopians, who claim they live in the birthplace of java, while away a weekend morning. Bamlak Getachew sits at an outdoor table at Kaldi's Coffee, sipping an espresso with a friend. 'Coffee is very important to me. I love it. I can drink it anytime but I must drink one in the morning,' she said, cradling the small green mug in her hands. And now, Ethiopia is showing its citizens there is more to coffee than just its robust, mild or medium taste. A precedent-setting deal with coffee giant Starbucks this year was the most renowned Addis Ababa has had in a push to promote the names of its coffee growing regions worldwide. Hopes are high that this strategy will increase the coffee's value and hopefully bring a much needed increase in income to its poor...