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Coffee

Some figures on Fairtrade Coffee (end of 2006)
Number of Fairtrade Certified Producer Organizations	241
Total sales volumes 2006 in Metric Tonnes	52.077
Extra amount of money producers received through Fairtrade in 2006 (in Mio. Euros)	41

There are about 25 million coffee farmers around the world and all remember the last coffee crisis. Almost overnight, international prices crashed. Hundered of thousands of farmers from the rainforest of Peru to the steep slopes of Kilimanjaro were forced out of business. It was yet another reminder of just how vulnerable coffee farmers are to the volatile international market and its wildly fluctuating prices.

For instance, in October 2001, during the worst of the world coffee price, a coffee producer was receiving on average 45 US$ cents per pound of coffee. By selling to Fairtrade buyers this same producer was receiving a minimum of US$ 121 cents (76 cents more per pound of coffee). It is important to keep in mind the volatile international coffee market and the wildly fluctuating prices of this primary commodity. It is in this difficult and unstable context that the Fairtrade Minimum Price and the Fairtrade Premium can make the most substantial difference to the lives of farmers.

: Valentín Chinchay collecting coffee cherries. Photo by: Didier Gentilhomme

“In 2001 and 2002, during the world coffee crises, our situation was
desperate. We received between 20 - 25 dollars per quintal (quintal = 100
pounds, 25 US$ per quintal = 0,25 US$/lb) ... many of the Ecuadorian
coffee producers left. We did not have any other choice but to abandon
the coffee culture” explains Valentín Chinchay, a member of FAPECAFES, a Fairtrade Certified Coffee Cooperative in Ecuador. “We are currently selling 80 % of our total coffee production under Fairtrade terms. But more important than the higher prices is the stability that Fairtrade brings. We are not as vulnerable to market volatility as we used to be.”

Please click on the links below for comparisons between Fairtrade Minimum Prices and Market Prices:

Robusta Coffee Market Price vs. Fairtrade Minimum Price (1989-2007)

Arabica Coffee Market Price vs. Fairtrade Minimum Price (1989-2007)

Sales volumes of Fairtrade Coffee (in Metric Tonnes)

	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Austria	284	300	333	409	463	519	571	747
Belgium	477	548	582	632	805	865	912	1.047
Canada	78	154	277	425	664	826	1.401	2.268
Denmark	695	742	712	655	543	550	600	733
Finland	36	91	97	109	113	120	137	284
France	270	495	950	1.386	2.357	2.784	5.342	6.175
Germany	3.332	3.098	3.129	2.942	2.834	2.981	3.278	3.908
UK	1.237	1.332	1.554	1.954	2.308	3.339	4.481	6.238
Ireland	41	55	62	60	100	126	165	304
Italy	353	399	453	243	230	225	243	260
Japan	6	7	7	10	22	55	130	147
Luxemburg	69	64	77	68	68	70	88	91
Netherlands	3.186	3.102	3.105	3.140	3.096	2.982	2.860	2.845
Norway	55	125	179	232	309	366	426	484
Sweden	218	217	254	289	294	375	520	953
Switzerland	1.429	1.382	1.306	1.246	1.514	1.462	1.487	1.535
USA	55	707	1.263	1.854	3.574	6577	11.240	23.568
Australia/NZ							99	299
Spain							13	193
TOTAL	11.821	12.818	14.340	15.654	19.294	24.222	33.994	52.077

Note: Decimals have been rounded up.

Where are the Fairtrade Coffee Producers?

At the end of 2006, FLO International worked with 241 coffee producer organizations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. If you want to find out where the Fairtrade Certified Coffee Producer Organizations are located, please check the database available on the FLO-CERT website.