1. Coffee, Fair Trade, & Justice for Farmers in the Global South
A Cup of Justice
Coffee, Fair Trade, & Justice for Farmers in the Global South

2. Many Small Farm Families Depend on Coffee
Worldwide, 20 to 25 million small farm households,
some 125 million people, depend on coffee for their livelihoods.
Nicaragua
Murray, Raynolds, and Taylor, 2003, p. 3. (125 million people); Oxfam, 2002, page 7, and United Nations Development Program, Human Development Report 2005, New York: UNDP, 2005, p.139 (20-25 million households).
Costa Rica
Ethiopia

3. Small coffee farmers receive 1% or less of the price of a cup of coffee sold in a coffee shop.5%
They receive roughly 5% of the retail price of a package of coffee sold in a U.S. supermarket.
Oxfam, 2002, p. 21.
Photo of grocery store coffee display by Ted Goodfleisch

4. Small coffee farmers, their families and communities are suffering
Photos of women and man by Cindi Young

5. What Is Happening in the Global Coffee Industry ?
Ethiopian coffee farmer

6. Prices Paid Coffee Farmers are Very Low
The price farmers receive for their coffee is at a record low, just 25% of the price
in 1960.
Oxfam, 2002, p. 9. (25% of 1960 price)
Price trend: International Coffee Organization

7. An excess supply of coffee has driven down the price
Farmers try to offset the falling price by producing and selling even more. But this leads to even lower prices and earnings continue to fall.
Photo: The Fairtrade Foundation

8. Small Farmers Earn too Little
Low coffee prices and small
farmers’ vulnerability
and disadvantage
mean they earn
too little for their
coffee.

9. Developing Countries Earn too Little
Exporters in coffee-producing
(usually poor) countries sell their
coffee to international buyers and
roasters. These large multinational firms seek to pay as little as possible.
Just three roasters (Nestle, Kraft/ Maxwell House, and Sara Lee) process 45% of the world’s coffee.
Just four companies
purchase 40% of the
world’s coffee.

10. The Impact of Low Coffee Earnings On Coffee Farmers and their Communities
Chiapas, Mex.
Photos by Maria Ramser (girls), Cindi Young (boy with machete), Stan Duncan (market)
San Cristobal de las Casas, Mex.

11. Impact of Low Coffee Earnings
Worsening poverty
In Mexico, “as a result of the decline in farmers’ income, about 20% of children were taken out of school and [farmers] were unable to afford clothes, shoes, basic medical attention, and repayment of credit.”
-- Mexico: Coordinadora Nacional de Organizaciones Cafetaleras
Fairtrade Foundation, 2002, p Photo by Cindi Young
Chiapas, Mex.

12. Impact of Low Coffee Earnings
Loss of Farms
Farmers can lose their land, forcing families to move to cities where living conditions may be inhumane and jobs are scarce.
Indonesia
Brazil

13. Impact of Low Coffee Earnings
Migration
Farmers may leave their country, seeking work elsewhere. Tens of thousands of Mexican coffee farmers have left their land,
leaving behind grieving families and weakened communities. Some come to the U.S. without documents.
U.S.-Mexico border

14. What Can Be Done ? Fair Trade, not “free” trade,
will improve the lives of
coffee farmers
Fair-trade importers provide
a vital link between small farmers and consumers who seek justice for small coffee farmers.

15. A Fair Trade Coffee Importer Agrees to:
Buy coffee grown
by small farmers organized into cooperatives (coops).

16. What is a Coop?
A cooperative (coop) is a business that is owned and democratically controlled by
its members.
Photo by Cindi Young
Members, CIRSA Coop, Chiapas, Mex.

17. What is a Coop?
A coop operates for the benefit of its members. It does not earn profits for share-holders. It elects its own leadership and does
not answer to an outside board.
Photo: CLUSA: ASOCIACION LIGA DE COOPERATIVAS, NICARAGUA
Coffee coop members, Nicaragua

18. A Fair Trade Coffee Importer Agrees to:
Pay a fair price currently set at $1.21 a pound or pay the world price, whichever is higher; and
Pay a 5 cent per pound
“social premium;” and
If organic, pay an
additional 15 cents a pound.

19. The Social Premium
The social premium of 5 cents per pound is paid to the coop, not to farmers.
Coop members decide how this money is to be used: for example, to
purchase needed equipment such as a truck to transport coffee, or to build a school or clinic.
Photo by Stan Duncan
Truck purchased by Mexican coop

20. A Fair Trade Coffee Importer Agrees to:
Purchase coffee directly from farmer coops, eliminating many “middle men” and opportunities for exploitation, providing higher prices for farmers.
Photos by Edith Rasell
Warehouse, CIRSA Coop, Chiapas, Mex.

21. Benefits of Fair Trade to Farmers and their Families
Better education, health, and opportunities due to the social premium payment.
Higher incomes.
Greater access to
credit for investment
and other needs.
Photo by Edith Rasell

22. Benefits of Fair Trade to Farm Communities
Enhanced community
opportunities such as
economic develop-
ment projects, schools,
health clinics,
sanitation facilities,
clean water, and
fuel-efficient stoves.
Strengthened communities with less poverty, more stability, and healthier and more educated community members.
Photo by Cindi Young

23. Fairly Traded Coffee
Certified fair-trade coops produce seven times more coffee than fair trade buyers purchase. They cannot sell all their coffee to fair trade purchasers.
So we need to expand sales of fairly traded coffee.
Murray, Raynolds, and Taylor, 2003, p. 15.
Photo Cindi Young

24. Fairly Traded Certified Coffee
The nonprofit
organization
TransFair USA
certifies coffee,
tea, chocolate,
rice, sugar
and a few
fresh fruits.
WATCH FOR & BUY PRODUCTS WITH THIS LABEL

25. Where to Buy Fairly Traded Coffee
There are a number of Fairly
Traded coffee traders and
roasters.
Coffee, tea, and cocoa may
be purchased through the
UCC-Equal Exchange Coffee Project (

26. Where to Buy Fairly Traded Coffee
Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, Procter & Gamble, and other large corporations have also agreed to sell Fairly Traded coffee. However,
consumers report
it is often unavailable
when they request it.
The Bottom Line:
Watch for the Fair
Trade Certified logo

27. , God is Still Speaking Produced by Edith Rasell
Minister for Workplace Justice
Justice and Witness Ministries
United Church of Christ
700 Prospect Ave
Cleveland, OH
2006
, God is Still Speaking