Last week at the International Coffee Council in London, leaders in the coffee industry discussed the future of coffee. The International Coffee Organization announced a global campaign this year on International Coffee Day to let consumers know about the present coffee crisis around the world.
At this point, you might say: “What? What crisis?”
Sometimes even a huge crisis can be silent, and that’s what’s happening with the crisis in coffee.
Coffee prices around the world have been falling over the last two years, and have reached the lowest prices since 2006. World coffee exports in July 2018 totaled over 10 million bags (not as in the little pound bags you buy at the supermarket, but as in 60 kg sacks of coffee).
However, as bad as things were, they are just getting worse. The commodity price has dipped as low as 96 US cents per pound – a true crisis for coffee growers.
What’s the problem with those prices? At less than one US dollar per pound, coffee growers can’t cover their production costs. That means they work hard on their coffee crops all year long, but come harvest time they don’t receive enough to cover what they already spent on those crops. And they definitely don’t have enough to pay for their family’s needs, basic things like food, health care, or education.
What causes low coffee prices?
That’s complex. There are more than 50 coffee-producing countries around the world, all with their unique economic systems and challenges. To make it simple, let’s just say that international exchange rates and shifts in coffee production (supply) affect coffee prices.
Who is affected by low coffee prices?
25 million coffee growers around the world.
What could be the result?
If coffee growers can’t provide for their families by growing coffee, they may turn to other crops or decide to abandon their farms. In Colombia, the threat is that coffee growers in certain areas could decide to plant illicit crops, which don’t suffer price crisis.
What can change those prices?
Regular coffee is a commodity, and the prices are set by a market that couldn’t care less about coffee growers. Helping coffee to step out of that commodity profile means higher prices. How does that work? For now, it means promoting the consumption of coffee that is NOT within the commodity range. In other words, specialty coffee.
What can you do to help?
What can you do to help coffee growers through this crisis? There are a number of ways to take action.
- Buy coffee that is outside of the commodity range – in other words, avoid the lowest priced coffee.
- Buy coffee from companies that work as directly as possible with farmers and pay those farmers fair prices (good companies will be transparent with their prices).
- Help encourage all coffee consumption, wherever you are in the world.
- If you’re in a coffee producing country, share your love of coffee with the people around you! Increasing consumption within coffee producing countries is important to local producers.
- Learn about specialty coffee. When you appreciate it more, you’ll understand why it costs more – and how that benefits everyone in the chain.
What can organizations do?
One effort of the ICO is that new campaign we mentioned at the start of this article, which they’ll launch on International Coffee Day, October 1.
The idea of the campaign is to make consumers aware of the very low coffee prices and the resulting crisis for coffee producers around the world. When consumers understand how low prices impact growers, they can make daily choices that help solve the problem.
To learn more, check out how you can support International Coffee Day coming up on October 1, 2018. There may be events near your home, or you can create your own coffee event. Visit the International Coffee Day page and prepare for a very caffeinated October 1!
