The EthioRussian » coffee export http://www.ethiorussian.com My footing on the rest of the world Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:09:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 en hourly 1 Did we finally make it? http://www.ethiorussian.com/2007/05/06/did-we-finally-make-it/ http://www.ethiorussian.com/2007/05/06/did-we-finally-make-it/#comments Sun, 06 May 2007 06:01:00 +0000 ethiorussian http://ethiorussian.wordpress.com/2007/05/06/did-we-finally-make-it/

That is the question for now, at least until the official agreement is signed this May. After several attempts to control the price of its coffee, Ethiopia’s government seems to be in promising discussions to sign a licensing agreement with Starbucks. Even though the details of the agreement will not be disclosed until it’s signed, it does appear to be one huge step forward for Ethiopia and its coffee farmers.

The signing of this licensing, distribution, and marketing agreement will benefit about 15 million individuals that depend on the trade of this commodity, by allowing them to capture an estimated total gain of $100 million. But that’s not all, Starbucks has also agreed to double the purchase of coffee from East Africa, increase the number of Farm Support Centers, and expand its micro-credit facilities.

Oxfam America started an international itiative to let the country trademark the names of Sidamo, Harar, and Yirgachefe back in October 2006, and after an estimated 93,000 voices to Starbucks, Oxfam is happy to see the relationship go in a positive direction.

]]> http://www.ethiorussian.com/2007/05/06/did-we-finally-make-it/feed/ 0 Relationship Coffee: A transparent approach http://www.ethiorussian.com/2007/03/12/relationship-coffee-a-transparent-approach/ http://www.ethiorussian.com/2007/03/12/relationship-coffee-a-transparent-approach/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2007 04:00:00 +0000 ethiorussian http://ethiorussian.wordpress.com/2007/03/12/relationship-coffee-a-transparent-approach/

“Relationship Coffee” is a term coined by Sustainable Harvest, an importer of specialty coffee from the top organic and Fair Trade coffee farms from around the world. Sustainable Harvest uses this Relationship Coffee model to essentially bridge the gap between the farmer and the world’s biggest coffee markets. The organization posted a short video on the “Relationship Coffee Fair Trade” case study (sorry I could not embed the video but you can find it here: Case Study 1 of 2, Case Study 2 of 2).

Companies like Starbucks, Kraft Foods (Maxwell House Coffee), and Procter & Gamble (Folgers) should use an approach like Relationship Coffee because it will enable the best coffee farms to improve their productivity while improving the economic conditions of their own environment.

To put things in perspective, Starbucks has a market cap currently valued at $22.76 billion compared to Ethiopia’s GDP of $71.63 billion (2006 Est., using purchasing power parity). This makes it kinda hard to believe that a company would refuse to go with a licensing agreement with one of the poorest nations in the world… I guess in the end it’s all about making investors happy…

]]> http://www.ethiorussian.com/2007/03/12/relationship-coffee-a-transparent-approach/feed/ 0 Ethiopian Coffee and the Fair Trade struggle… a video depiction http://www.ethiorussian.com/2007/03/12/ethiopian-coffee-and-the-fair-trade-struggle-a-video-depiction/ http://www.ethiorussian.com/2007/03/12/ethiopian-coffee-and-the-fair-trade-struggle-a-video-depiction/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2007 03:10:00 +0000 ethiorussian http://ethiorussian.wordpress.com/2007/03/12/ethiopian-coffee-and-the-fair-trade-struggle-a-video-depiction/

The following short videos document the recent struggles that Ethiopian coffee farmers and their representatives are going through to enact a Fair Trade environment for the country’s biggest export.

Starbucks day of action
December 16th 2006, posted by Oxfam America

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N5wzr5xeWI]

Starbucks talks about coffee farmers in Africa
December 18th 2006, posted by Starbucks

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dteTrEM7mlM]

Starbucks invests in farmer communities
January 3rd 2007, posted by Starbucks

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHP-7lE9mpY]

Ethiopian coffee network legal issues
February 27th 2007, posted by Robert Winter, Arnold & Porter LLP, Counsel for Ethiopia’s trademark applications

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DiWK81j7fg]

A supporter voicing an opinion…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFQg9Eb2Eeg]

]]> http://www.ethiorussian.com/2007/03/12/ethiopian-coffee-and-the-fair-trade-struggle-a-video-depiction/feed/ 0 Name your fair price for a cup of coffee… http://www.ethiorussian.com/2006/12/09/name-your-fair-price-for-a-cup-of-coffee/ http://www.ethiorussian.com/2006/12/09/name-your-fair-price-for-a-cup-of-coffee/#comments Sat, 09 Dec 2006 05:13:00 +0000 ethiorussian http://ethiorussian.wordpress.com/2006/12/09/name-your-fair-price-for-a-cup-of-coffee/

Here’s the Story…

“Multinational coffee companies now rule our shopping malls and supermarkets and dominate the industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil.

But while we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields.

Nowhere is this paradox more evident than in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee. Tadesse Meskela is one man on a mission to save his 74,000 struggling coffee farmers from bankruptcy. As his farmers strive to harvest some of the highest quality coffee beans on the international market, Tadesse travels the world in an attempt to find buyers willing to pay a fair price.

Against the backdrop of Tadesse’s journey to London and Seattle, the enormous power of the multinational players that dominate the world’s coffee trade becomes apparent. New York commodity traders, the international coffee exchanges, and the double dealings of trade ministers at the World Trade Organisation reveal the many challenges Tadesse faces in his quest for a long term solution for his farmers”.

The site for the movie has a forum with alot of interesting points, including a post that appears to be from a Starbucks representative.

With the whole fair trade stuff aside, I am starting to believe that the coffee farmers would not benefit until THEY start selling the coffee at THEIR price, without any middleman organizations acting for them… unless the farmers join forces to set up their own entities to trade with giant corporations like P&G, Nestle, Sara Lee, Kraft and Starbucks (apparently the better one of the bunch… ), the dealings conducted by current middlemen don’t seem to trickle down to the people breaking their backs for us to sit in cozy places with friends sipping on some over-priced coffee.

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