Coffee

Question 1

Coffee producers and consumers

Answer 1

Brazil, Colombia and Vietnam are the worlds biggest coffee producers - Finland is its biggest consumer.

Question 2

Climate

Answer 2

Environments that are between 25N-30N - it is seen as the number 1 cash crop in these areas.

Question 3

Coffee profits

Answer 3

7-10% of the price of coffee bought at the retailer goes to farmers - as they sell the unprocessed bean.

Problem of oligopsony - 4 main buyers control around 40% of global coffee prices - creates a ‘race to the bottom’ to satisfy TNCs.

Question 4

Fairtrade

Answer 4

Works with coffee producers - aim at setting a minimum price that the product can be bought at - promotes brands that pay fair prices to coffee producers.

Fairtrade premium - a communal fund to help local communities develop - farmers are able to invest in technology that will increase the quantity an quality of supply.

Question 5

Volatility

Answer 5

Surge of demand in coffee has converted a large amount of agricultural lands into coffee plantations.

The coffee plant takes 6-12 months to grow - can be wiped out easily through poor climate.

Due to the volatility of this crop - and farmers have substituted to coffee crops from subsistence farming - malnutrition has become a problem in places like Ethiopia.