Analysis Of Black Gold

Coffee had lots of demand, but little supply. The country that could grow and export the most coffee had a substantial economic advantage over other countries in terms of commerce.

We can understand the relation between commodity and trade development through the study of coffee and it’s origins. Over about 90% of coffee is produced in the South, and consumed in the North. Or a long time Latin America has provided most of the world’s coffee. Coffee comes from a cherry produced by a tree that requires a warm climate without any sudden temperature shifts or frost and it needs plenty of rain. This climate is ideal for coffee between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. During the movement of coffee from harvest to export the first step is to separate the coffee bean from the skin and the pulp of the cherry, this results in what is called “green” coffee. Before it is exported the coffee is cleaned and sorted into lots that have different quality attributes, something like the grain elevators. The lots vary as they go from country to country based on the size, the shape shape and the deficiencies it might have or the way it is processed. At this point in the process the coffee still has it’s individual quality and value.

Threat of Substitutes: There are various substitutes for fair trade coffee in the industry such as regular coffee, tea etc but not only coffees but in the general beverages market e.g. Coca Cola, Water etc. As a result of this there is a very high threat of substitutes.

National governments in coffee growing countries have a major investment in Starbucks. Some of these countries include Costa Rica, Guatemala, Kenya, Nicaragua, and Tanzania. Starbucks strive to be responsible for its

The documentary Black Gold, is about the world coffee market and an Ethiopian fair trade cooperative. Ethiopia being the birthplace of coffee is the largest producer of coffee in the world, producing some of the highest quality of coffee beans in the world, like Harar, Yuban and Sidamo types of coffee. The significant problems pointed out in this documentary show what is wrong in the global trading system. Mainly, while most of us continue have our lattes and specialty coffees, the amount paid to the Ethiopian coffee farmers is so low that a lot of them have been forced to chop down some of their coffee fields and rely on other crops to help them survive. The Ethiopian people are malnourished; they have no clean water, no healthcare, and no schools for their families. As quoted in the film, “They are living hand to mouth”.

Stealing Africa is a staggering documentary about a money hungry company called Glencore. They are responsible for the destruction of land in Zambia that has left natives penny-less. The Zambian natives are now some of the poorest people in the world. What Glencore wants is their copper rich grounds that can make them billions of dollars. This copper is essential in the global economy and has caught the eyes of the world’s richest companies. Today, virtually all of the copper mines in Zambia are owned by multi-national corporations. In the past ten years they have extracted enough copper to be worth more than twenty nine billion US dollars. Ironically,

insights which have been neglected by the later literature of new growth theory and new trade

In regards to the company Starbucks, their cost of production includes the cost of coffee beans, milk, plastic products, advertising, rent and labor. When it comes to the high price of Starbucks coffee customers should consider the cost of what goes into the coffe, Howard Schultz said “I am concerned about dairy, both domestically and around the world, and we are working feverishly with our suppliers, (and to) identify new suppliers (Thomnson, R. 2014). When it comes to the price of coffee, “prices recently hit a two-year high due to crop-damaging drought in Brazil, the top producer” (Thomnson, R. 2014). This has a huge impact on the price consumers pay for their coffee.

Not all that Glistens is Made of Gold is a powerful statement that illustrates how convincing outward appearances are at masking the ugly realities that lie below the surface. Such a reality exists with the current criminal justice system here in Canada. While the current penal system may appear attractive to many of the general public, abolitionists have studied the effects of prisons and overall carceral system and shocking discoveries have many advocating that changes or even structural alternatives are in great need. Some scholars have argued that the system in itself is flawed, or what is termed abolitionism, while others propose that only certain areas are in need of work in order to serve justice better, a reformist stance. The following

Finally, global economic issues have an immense influence on the world of coffee. Throughout history there has been a pattern that coffee producing countries are economically worse off than those that are consuming the coffee. Pendergrast mentions that “in 1950 the average income in consuming countries was three times that of coffee-growing nations. By the late 1960s it was five times great” (270). With that said, many producing coffee countries were facing endemics and malnourished peoples because workers were receiving absurdly low wages thus placing them into poverty and human suffering (271). Specifically, although 90 percent of El Salvador’s exports consisted of coffee in the 1930s, they agonized from “‘low wages, incredible filth…[under] conditions in fact not far removed from slavery’” (168). Global economic issues of these producing countries lead to dictators easily gaining power such as those in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras (170). Not only was politics a matter that resulted from global economic issues, “the high interest rates from financial institutions and price [squeezes]” lead to the economic struggle of farmers like those from Colombia due to

Assuming that the demand and supply for premium coffees are in equilibrium, the price will be at a constant, without significant pressure from the market. If Starbucks introduced the world to premium blends, this would cause a positive shift in the demand curve. There a higher equilibrium price and higher quantity when demand increases and supply remain unchanged. As prices increase, and the market moves to a new equilibrium, we will see higher wages, more advances and investments in technology and infrastructure, and greater competition. As production become more efficient and competition becomes greater, supply will increase and cause prices to settle back down. There are several factors that will impact the long-term equilibrium, such as changes in supply. For example, if a hard freeze eliminated Brazil’s premium coffee crop, this would cause a negative shift in the supply curve. Assuming demand remains constant a negative shift in the supply curve will cause quantity to decrease and equilibrium price to increase. Research shows that in 2011 a frost occurred in Brazil's southeastern coffee growing belt. Traders worried that next year's yields could be hurt. At the same time, heavy rains during harvest forced Columbia to reduce its crop estimate for 2011. Understanding the impact of problems along the supply chain and how the changes in supply

There are many sellers in the market heating up pricing competition. Competitors like McDonald’s, Dunkin Donuts, Peet’s Coffee and other specialty coffee companies incentivize price wars. Furthermore, coffee’s demand is elastic which makes it difficult to increase prices without greatly reducing the demand. This makes differentiation and positioning very important. Also, it is easy for customers to switch from coffee vendors. Whichever company is most convenient for the customer will likely win the business. Competition is a top priority in the industry.

Statistics show that over half of the American population consumes coffee on a daily basis. You may drink coffee hot, cold, mixed, or even in a frappuccino. Individuals are able to make coffee at home, or buy it on the go. Coffee provides people with caffeine, which ultimately gives energy for hardworking people all around the world. The main focus for this paper will cover the following topics, with coffee as the basis: causes for shifts in supply and demand, how coffee supply and demand influence price, quantity,

In bargaining power of suppliers, the interest for coffee is high in worldwide level and espresso beans can be produced just in certain geographical zones. Also, the issues connected with African espresso producers being dealt with unjustifiably by multinational organizations are generally determined with the endeavors of different non-government associations, and this is helping the expanding bargaining force of suppliers.

Within the Gilbane Gold case, the major problem is the contribution of water pollution by dumping chemicals to speed production for Z CORP. However, there is doubt as to what extent the company violated city regulations. Tom Richards believes that Z-CORP broke regulations repeatedly but Professor Massin believes that it is not solid evidence. Part of the problem is that two different tests are involved: an older and a less sensitive test which does not break regulations but there is also the newer and more sensitive one which does. The newer test was said that the company just broke city regulations, but not by a large amount.