Ethiopian Famine and Coffee Crisis

Predictions of mass starvation in Ethiopia this week refocus world attention on the droughts that have wrecked the country in recent history. The warnings should also refocus attention on the causes behind the country’s vulnerability in the face of natural disaster – one major cause is poor coffee prices.

Coffee is Ethiopia’s major export, accounting for around 60% of its total export earnings. With coffee prices at-30 year lows, the impact on the country is huge. Between the period 1997/98 and 2000/01the value of its coffee exports slumped by 58% although the volume fell by only 20%.

"Ethiopian farmers have been telling us of the worsening situation for months now," says Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation. "They have been taking their children out of school, pulling up coffee bushes. One farmer said ‘we are like long-haired sheep, you don’t see how thin we are getting’."

The Fairtrade Foundation is urging people to buy Fairtrade coffee where farmers are receiving $1.26 per lb. The export price of coffee in Ethiopia fell by half in a year - from 79 cents per lb in 2000 to 39 cents in 2001, with farmers now receiving just 24 cents per lb.

"Tragically it is not just Ethiopia. Coffee farmers around the world are experiencing dire problems – they just cannot make ends meet when prices are so shockingly low," says Harriet. "And that is attracting more and more British consumers to Fairtrade. The public are increasingly suspicious of the froth of a global cappuccino economy, growing larger on unreal speculations, and futures markets divorced from what is happening to the people who grow our foods."

In 2000/01 Ethiopia’s income of $158.6m from coffee was less that the $189m it had to pay to service its debt bill.

To arrange an interview, please email eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk or telephone 020 7440 7686 or mobile 07770 957 451.

Equal Exchange Organic Ethiopian Limu coffee is available from health-food and wholefood shops and by mail order (Telephone 0131 220 3484).

The direct nature of the Fairtrade commercial relationship is at least as important as the price. Bypassing the international commodity market and buying direct from farmers’ organisations means that farmers get a greater share of the rewards of their labour. Fairtrade terms mean longer-term contracts and up to 60% pre-financing if required.

Fairtrade returns a better deal to farmers than ‘conventional’ coffee because

• all Fairtrade coffee must be bought direct from organisations of small growers
• these organisations must be democratically structured and genuinely representative of their members
• the coffee must be bought at a price which meets the cost of production, plus a margin for social or business investment
• the availability of advance payments ensures that the grower organisations can finance their activities.

• Sales of Fairtrade coffee grew by 23% in 2001 with an estimated retail value of £18.5million. Fairtrade coffee has 14 per cent of the UK retail roast and ground coffee market.
• Fairtrade coffee is available in Costa Coffee, Pret A Manger and Starbucks coffee chains.

• Brian Wogan Fairtrade Costa Rica ground coffee (available in specialist delicatessens and health food stores)
• Cafédirect 5065 and Organic Decaffeinated Freeze Dried coffees; Medium Roast, Rich Roast, Organic Full Roast, Kilimanjaro Mountain Special and Organic Machu Picchu Mountain Special fresh ground coffees (available from major supermarkets, independent retailers, Oxfam shops, Traidcraft mail order, Fair Trade shops and independent health and whole food stores).
• Co-op Fair Trade Ground Coffee and Fair Trade Instant Coffee Granules (available in Co-op stores).
• Equal Exchange organic Medium Roast, Dark Roast and Decaffeinated ground coffees and whole beans, and Espresso Fine Grind, Sumatran Takegon and Colombian Excelso ground coffees (available from health food and wholefood shops, and by mail order)
• Johnsons Fairtrade ground coffee (stocked in Sainsbury’s and Co-op stores in Northern Ireland)
• Matthew Algie Tiki Caffé is available as beans or in various grinds (mail order (Tel: 0141 420 2422)
• Percol Colombia, Guatemala Organic, Latin American Organic and Nicaragua ground coffees are available in most supermarkets. Their organic Americano and organic Espresso blends are stocked in Waitrose and Budgens.
• Sainsbury’s Fairtrade Colombian fresh roast ground coffee (available in the majority of Sainsbury’s stores)
• Traidcraft Dark Roast, Medium Roast and Organic & Decaffeinated Roast ground coffees (available from wholefood shops and Fair Trade shops, and by mail order and online shopping from Traidcraft).

There are also over 20 national catering suppliers of Fairtrade coffee. For a complete list of retail and catering products and their availability, visit the Fairtrade web site at http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/suppliers.htm