Research Paper On Starbucks

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.

According to statistics, Finland is the country with the highest per capita consumption of coffee, and China is the lowest one, but in Finland there are nearly five million residents only, which means Finland will consume a million bags of coffee every year, but the 1.3 billion residents of China will provide approximately 200 million potential coffee consumers, and this will make China becomes a major coffee market. On the other hand, under the same culture background, compare to Japan and Korea, Chinese average annual per capita consumption is only around 20 Cups, but this also means Chinese consumer coffee market has a big room for future growth.

The 21st century has seen several companies cross international borders to look for new markets to conduct their business and increase shareholders’ return. The process was fuelled by opening of borders and advancement in transport mode and technology in the 21st century. The situation has complicated the attempts to fully understand the process of global production. However, the research and different literatures in the recent past have given customers and scholar a good read on forms of labour which go into producing the product or service, and how this work is globally distributed (Coe, Dicken and Hess 2008, p.274). The development has made customers to strongly know what they want and what they consume. Therefore, this essay will analyze the Global Production Network (GPN) of coffee and discuss who benefits most from the structure of this GPN. In the analysis, the essay will focus on three different aspects. First, the paper will analyze various forms of labour that go into creating the product and how is this work globally distributed. The essay will also analyze how the value is captured at each stage of production distributed along the network. Lastly, the essay will focus on the institutional arrangements that explain the structure of this GPN.

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.

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”.

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

The coffee industry has proven there is a never-ending shift of global power through the global economy. Thus, through the history of coffee, it is apparent that factors involving the globalization process such as absolute advantage and comparative advantage have had an impact

No good deed goes unpunished. No act of charity goes unresented. Buying coffee at the local coffee shop down the street, we see the Fair Trade logo and wonder whether ordering Fair Trade coffee rather than conventional coffee really supports farmers in unindustrialized countries. In other words, does Fair Trade work? The Fair Trade initiative aims to improve the living conditions of producers in developing nations. The goals of Fair Trade are to achieve higher prices for producers, greater availability of financing for producers, longer-term and more sustainable buyer-seller relationships, improved social goods and community development, and the use of environmentally friendly production processes. Fair Trade works through a certification

As the coffee industry in Brazil grew so did the infrastructure of the country. By the 1900’s coffee made up 70 percent of exports from Brazil. The increased productivity led to an excess in the market that coupled with diminished demand caused a Brazilian depression and created discontent with the current political system that led to dictatorship control (E, 2008) (The Library of Congress, 2010). With the emergence of a more democratic political system and deregulation other crops developed as important exports. This was further encouraged by the government due to a need to have a more diversified economy (The Library of Congress, 2010). Even with shifting production to other crops Brazil remains an important part of the world’s coffee supply as shown in figure 1.

The price of commercial coffee is controlled by the New York and London exchange markets where they decide the prices of coffee(Francis, 2006). Most of the buyers and seller that deal in the trading of coffee usually look at the New York market to make their decisions on the prices. Also the World Trade Organization is involved in controlling trade of commercial coffee, but these decisions and the way stuff is traded is controlled by developed nation and small undeveloped countries in Africa have to say or voice in

Starbucks is undoubtedly an international brand. The history of coffee traces back to Ethiopia, Africa, India, Arabia, and Europe, and has been traded abroad since the 11th century. Understanding the demand and widespread market for coffee, Starbucks has triumphantly capitalized both the domestic market, and the varied international markets as well. Possessing about 6,500 retail sites worldwide, Starbucks’ net is spread across thirty countries and has been found as one of the most recognized brands all over the globe in equality to McDonalds and Toyota. This organization’s ability to build an international brand has been unprecedented- particularly since it represents a specialty

In general the coffeehouse industry in the United States was experiencing an increase in coffee consumption per capita due to the “Starbucks effect”. At this time Starbucks was operating approximately 20,000 stores in the United States and was living a fast expansion strategy worldwide.

Coffee is one of the most widespread and popular drinks next to water and the second most used product right after oil. Being a truly global commodity, its consumption today reaches 2.25 billion cups per day. The biggest importers and thus coffee consuming nations are the US, Germany, Italy, Japan and France.

The film highlights the fact that coffee is the most valued word commodity, second to oil. The beginning of the film shows the process in which coffee is made- from bean harvesting by workers in Ethiopia who make next to nothing, through several intermediated stages, and into the market. Although we spend countless amounts of money on coffee without thinking twice, the price that coffee farmers who produce this commodity are getting paid, is disgustingly low. Some of them have even been forced to walk away from their fields. There is no better place to see this

Coming up with development goals to, facilitate growth. Growth is an important aspect that determines the progress of an organization and how completive it should be.