Socioeconomic Effects of Coffee Trade on the Ethiopian Farmer

The inoculate Fair Trade coffee beans which satiate consumers ' morning desire for a pick-me-up as well as bettering the lives of the growers begin their journey in the Northern highlands of Sumatra in the Indonesian Island chain. Trader Joe’s Fair Trade Organic Sumatra Coffee beans are grown on the small Indonesian island of Sumatra in the tropical South Pacific. Rather than being produced on large Multinational Corporation owned-and-operated plantation style coffee farms, this global commodity begins its journey from creation to consumption on small, several acre large plots owned, operated, and harvested by small-scale farmers in the

Costa Rica now provided raw material for Starbucks which accounted for about 15 percent of the total coffee beans Starbucks needed every year. Costa Rica as one of the raw material suppliers plays an important role in global value chain. Coffee has played a pivotal role in the development of Costa Rica. It has shaped social, cultural and political institutions and is still one of country’s major agricultural exports. (Anywhere, 2016) The global value chain in this coffee industry can be described that Starbucks, the centre in this coffee global value chain, purchasing raw materials (coffee beans) from coffee farms in Costa Rica, reprocessing and reproducing in retail shops, selling the finished products (various kinds of coffee) to customers in the world.

People around the world consume numerous goods every day. There are several things that determine what quantities and how frequently they are consumed and those influences can either work in tandem or act individually to influence a person. It is these foundations that set an average for what consumers will purchase and the volume of goods to be created by agriculturalists and industrialists. This is known as economic consumption patterns, and these patterns are carefully studied by economists. With the data that they glean from this assessment economists can then use that information to provide the economy with data

According to Lyon, Bezaury, & Mutersbaugh (2010), Fair-trade is a “process which helps improve the well-being and economic stability of disempowered farmers, by using certified commodity-chains to foster development”. For the KHC company, Fair-trade is essential because they want to provide and endorse exceptional coffee beans that they are proud to use; that means, “using coffee that is good and fair for both our coffee drinkers and for farmers are essential” (Kicking Horse Coffee, n.d.). In fact, over the past 20 years, Kicking Horse won numerous awards in many categories, including Canada’s Fastest- Growing Companies, Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs, Canada's Favourite Fair-trade Product and number 15 Best Workplace in Canada (Kicking Horse Coffee, n.d.).

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”.

In chapter seven, it was stated that the coffee shop company do not completely buy from the small-time farmers. In case regarding towards Rwanda, a developing area where Starbucks supposedly performs fair trade, it was discovered that Starbucks buy their coffee beans from bigger plantations and the middle man, who buys coffee beans from small-time farmers usually scamming them (216). This creation of image of Starbucks being a good corporate business in helping the small time farmers earn more income is contracted by Simon’s findings, and shows that the coffee company is actually taking advantage of the small time farmers, when Starbucks buys from the middle man or the big plantation owners, it pay less for the coffee beans than they do if Starbucks purchases beans from small-time farmers. The greed of Starbucks at the expense of the individual farmers is unethical, yet the coffee shop company markets the contradiction.

With no choice families have to work in labour to pay off debts or to support life in a family. An example is Mohammed Ali Indris, 36 year old Ethiopian coffee farmer who has 12 children. Mohammed's year profit of selling coffee beans decreased from US$320 to US$60. He stated "I had to sell my oxen this year to pay for the loan I took out for fertiliser and pesticides that I needed. If I couldn't pay the loan I would have gone to prison." This evidence shows how socioeconomic conditions of the farmers are the factors of citizens in developing countries growing coffee beans. Poverty must be considered one of the primary causes contributing to the linear global spatial pattern of this topic. However, the coffee producing countries form a linear pattern around the equator line, with a large quantity of the countries being part of South America. Regions

The need for the Tadesse Meskela to inspect the entire trading process of coffee beans in order to prevent exploitation from the marchants is the other example of dependency theory. While coffee beans have been harvested less and sold in lower price, the meager profit from the sale of coffee beans is not enough to satisfy most of the coffee farmers; not to mention fostering the whole poor nation into economic independence. The miserable condition of Ethiopia makes them dependent on wealthier nations for survival, whereas they are powerless to determine the price of products. As Tadesse Meskela indicated, “Price is mainly based on the New York ‘C’ market. If New York is down by five cents today, the coffee exporters are going to buy the coffee

Many Canadians start their day with a cup of coffee, taking for granted how the coffee bean was grown, harvested, packaged and shipped to their coffee provider to then roast and prepare for us to purchase for as little as $1.50 per cup. Today coffee is the most important product in the Fair Trade market affecting over five hundred thousand producers and workers. The Fair Trade label can be traced back to 1988 originating from a church based Non Governmental Organization (NGO) from the Netherlands that began an initiative to ensure coffee growers and pickers would receive sufficient wages for their work. The NGO created the fair trade label called Max Havelaar. Following this, similar organizations followed

First of all, people in local communities suffer from poverty because of imbalanced trade and payment to the commodity that they grow. Their lives depend a great deal on so-called global commodities such as coffee, cacao, and tea, which can be available to citizens in developed countries at a low price. Therefore the demand of these commodities has increased in the last few decades. According to Ambinakudige (2009), coffee that is one of the most traded commodities in the world is the main means of small farmers’ lives in developing countries. He examined how people in developing worlds are influenced by volatile global markets, especially focused on small farmers in the Kodagu district of India. In 1998, the amount of coffee export reached to US$469 million. However, after the International Coffee Agreement collapsed, known as the coffee crisis, which deregulated the international coffee supply, the labour force in coffee sector decreased in India, and 150,000 jobs were lost between 2000 and 2002 (Oxfam, cited in Ambinakudige 2009). People cannot manage their coffee plants and yield, earn enough money to return a loan on time, and get the loan the following year, which results in less investment in coffee. That cycle makes their lives worse and makes people stay in the cycle of poverty (Ambinakudige 2009 p.562).

The colonization of Uganda and Kenya is the reason why they are bilateral countries meaning they share many of the same interest such as political interest, economic interests etc… Being colonized by the United Kingdom has affected their history forever, and has made it extremely difficult to be in the same state as the rest of the world but also allowed both countries to be close with each other as they shared the same experiences. As they gained their independence, they later formed an East African Community along with Tanzania who was also colonized by the UK which created many benefits in the long run. In this paper, I will investigate the benefits of the East African Community over time specifically with Kenya’s and Uganda’s trade with coffee.

Did you know that coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world? Second to oil, the coffee industry employs millions of people to trade, process, grow, and produce coffee (BBC News). In this paper I will address if the coffee industry is fair to its producers and consumers. I will also discuss different fiscal organizations that directly affect the coffee industry’s prices like the International Coffee Organization, World Trade Organization, Free Trade, and Fair Trade. I will also touch upon of the coffee industry influences farmers, middleman, and consumers.

Coffee farming is crucial as the source of income for smallholders farmer in most of developing countries. Although, the number of private plantation is quite small, they might have the possibility to break the boundary and an access broader market channel. However, small-scale farmers might have several constraints that prevent them from reaching the market. The demand for high quality products and consistent volumes is one of the possible constraints that they might face. Several studies have been drawn the important barrier encountered by developing country producers regarding institutional and infrastructural support (Trienekens, 2011:52). To some extent, smallholders also faced a various disadvantage

Coffee has become an essential part of the lives of millions of people all across the world. It is how a majority of people starts their day, and get through their day. It is shared over good conversation with friends and loved ones, it is reason for a date, or for comfort on a cold day and because of this it has become a way in which many people identify themselves. In North America what you put in your coffee, your favourite coffee shop and how much you spend have become a way in which we label ourselves, because everyone knows that spending five dollars on a coffee from Starbucks makes you superior. Yet looking past the brand and its perceived superiority the reality is that Starbucks profits while farmers starve . Each and everyday

When I think of Kenya, I think of long distance runners, I think of the beginning of man, I think of its plethora of wildlife, and I think of Barack Obama. What I have never contemplated was Kenya’s agriculture and how it has affected the culture and economics of Kenya. “Tea, coffee, sisal, pyrethrum, corn, and wheat are grown in the fertile highlands, one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa. Production is mainly on small African owned farms formed from the division of formerly European-owned estates.” Coffee in Kenya is big business, but it is grown mainly on small farms by coops of farmers working together. Looking into Kenya’s past will help to clarify how coffee became an agricultural commodity, and give insight into its beginnings.