I have a lot of conversations around coffee, and these days, most of them have the same big question looming over them: Will these high coffee prices ever lower?

No one can answer this question definitively. We can look at past precedents and see that historically, price busts follow price booms. That doesn’t feel like a certainty, however, given that much of the current price boom was caused by the worsening of climate change, a challenge that farmers continue to face. Securing a resilient and fair future for the coffee industry requires much more than answering the question of price. We’ll need to bring together all sides of the industry to work together to find innovative and sustainable paths forward. 

From May 14-15 I joined more than 230 attendees from across the global coffee supply chain—producers, traders, and roasters- in Antigua, Guatemala, for Fairtrade’s first Coffee Forum, hosted by CLAC, Fairtrade’s Producer Network in Latin America and the Caribbean. CLAC coordinated a well-rounded slate of panels that addressed topics like risk management in the coffee market, complying with new regulations, and visions for a sustainable coffee future. Interspersed throughout the panels was ample time to meet and chat over a cup of coffee.

But the forum wasn’t just about discussing the future of coffee – attendees had the chance to personally engage with the innovation and success that Fairtrade farmers are spearheading now. From May 12-13, immediately preceding the Fairtrade Coffee Forum, CLAC hosted the Central American and Mexican regional Golden Cup competition in Guatemala City. In addition, forum attendees had the chance to finish the week of learning with a field visit to the cooperative headquarters of FEDECOCAGUA.  

The main thesis I took away from the event? We need to build strong alliances across the coffee supply chain to weather the storms of high prices and climate change. Coffee roasters and buyers need to create a new way of working to build these bonds - business-as-usual simply won’t suffice.

Through the panels and conversations had over the course of the week, several key takeaways emerged for how cooperatives, traders, and roasters can build strong alliances. Many forum speakers urged coffee-producing cooperatives to invest in professionalization. For example, trainings on digitization and EUDR compliance for cooperative members are paramount-- without reliable ways to prove compliance, cooperatives won’t be able to sell their coffees to the large and highly important European markets, forcing traders and roasters to find other, more compliant coffee cooperatives to source from. In turn, coffee buyers must recognize the responsibility they have as well, increasing investments at origin and committing to long term partnerships. Long term partnerships can allow cooperatives to innovate and improve season over season.

In our visit to FEDECOCAGUA later in the week, we saw firsthand examples of the value that a professionalized cooperative adds to its business partnerships. FEDECOCAGUA is a cooperative comprised of smaller cooperatives, and their membership includes other cooperatives that are both Fairtrade and non-Fairtrade certified. Leadership shared that their Fairtrade certified member cooperatives are much closer than the non-Fairtrade certified cooperatives to being compliant with new deforestation regulations in Europe, in part due to support from Fairtrade through CLAC-led trainings. FEDECOCAGUA’s ability to quickly ready their members to comply with new regulations means that they have been able to retain important contracts with the largest coffee companies in the world. 

One way to strengthen industry alliances is to bring together different stakeholders over a cup of excellent coffee, which is exactly what happened during the Golden Cup competition prior to the Forum. CLAC assembled a panel of q-graders comprising roasters and coffee producers to judge samples from various Central American cooperatives. The diversity of perspectives led to interesting discussions about the samples. Producers from Central America at the event shared environmental factors from last year’s harvest that added important context to the qualities of the samples. Hearing the roasters discuss which coffees would do best in their unique markets also added to this rich dialogue. I left the Golden Cup feeling grateful that I had the chance to try some stellar coffees and inspired by the accomplishments of Fairtrade farmers. 

This theme of relationships that lead to resilience was summed up beautifully in a conversation I had with Jorge Paez, the director of business development and strategic partnerships for the ANEI Cooperative in Colombia. Gesturing to the delicately woven bag on his side, he explained, his cooperative “builds relationships similarly to how we weave the fabric for our bags—it takes time and effort, but over time we create strong ties.” 

Weaving as an analogy for alliance building demonstrates just how monumental a task it can be. What constitutes the warp and the weft, the fundamental threads without which the industry cannot exist? Who designs the pattern that the skilled artisans weave, and what is the loom itself? The coffee industry needs expert farmers, passionate buyers and a livable climate so that the current fabric we have on our loom can be crafted into a functional garment for our future.

The Fairtrade Coffee Forum brought together diverse threads of the coffee industry and offered opportunities for coffee industry actors to build relationships that will weave together into strong, resilient alliances.