Purists prefer their coffee black just as the general public prefers their politics black and white.
However, reality is rarely that simple. Many people put cream, sugar and other flavorings in their coffee just as many issues spice up the politics of fair trade coffee.
To put it simply, the Fair Trade principals assure that small-scale coffee farmers make a liveable wage and are treated fairly. Fair Trade mandates that farmers receive a minimum price and that financial transactions occur in a transparent manner.
Big Business. Coffee is a staple and growing business in the USA and around the world yet coffee farmers mainly live in extreme poverty.(because of goverment and middlemen who think of the other 99% as peasants) Coffee is second only to oil as the most traded commodity in the world. Annual sales of specialty coffee in the USA are up about 40% over the past five years to more than $11 billion. The USA consumes about 20% of all the world's coffee. Yet, unlike rich oil producers, coffee farmers make about $500 per year( somtimes nothing) from their once-a-year harvest. These wages keep small-scale coffee farmers in a cycle of poverty and debt.
Fair Trade sets a minimum price for coffee that theoretically assures a farmer can support his family. Normally prices are set by trading on the New York Board of Trade. These prices have ranged from about $0.40 to $1.20 over the past five years. This wide-range illustrates how difficult it is for a small-scale farmer to know whether he will be able to feed his family or send his kids to school.
Minimum Price. The fair-trade minimum price is set at $1.26 per pound for so-called conventional coffee and $1.41 for organic coffee. (The $1.41 will be going up to $1.46 soon). Some of this cost goes to the cooperative that processes and markets the coffee. However, through Fair-Trade, farmers usually receive two to three times what they would usually make.
Paying farmers a fair price for their coffee is important but it is only one part of the Fair Trade model. The other criteria often get lost in the discussion because most want a "simple solution."
The Fair Trade model also requires such things as:
Open books on both sides of the transaction.
Democratically-elected officers of the coffee cooperatives.
Providing farmers with pre-harvest financing, which can be very important with a once-a-year crop.
