There are 7.9 billion people in the world, out of which 125 million people depend on coffee for their livelihoods. Coffee is grown in more than 70 countries, but nearly 70% of the world’s coffee is produced by four of them, Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia and Indonesia.
Coffee is considered top 3 traded commodity in the world, despite this coffee is still very unreliable, trying to grow and make any living out of it. Coffee is mostly grown by small farmers and their families, and if a crop fails or they run into operation difficulty in a form of unexpected costs this might mean they are now left with not source of income.
This is where Fair Trade comes in.
Fair trade certification shows products have been produced to fair trade standards. It’s aim is to provide farmers with a fair minimum price for their crop, ensuring their production costs are covered even when the market prices fall or crop issues arise. There are now over 800,000 farmers worldwide now taking part in this initiative.
Farmers are encouraged to become more sustainable and envrionmentally-friendly, by making changes to their processes to improve soil and water quality, reduce the amount of chemicals used, manage pests, and reduce greenhouse emissions.
US is the largest importer of fair trade coffee, followed Germany and Italy, whereas UK is the 8th largest importer accounting to just 3% of worlds import. There is still allot to be done and a long way to go! We as consumers can make a difference by encouraging our favourite local coffee shop to switch to fair trade, keeping a concious mind when buying coffee,
