Over the last five centuries, countries have always produced coffee. However, the coffee market has always been volatile. Accounts from recent historical and coffee related events records sharp drops in coffee prices globally and subsequent consequences. The presented coffee crisis in 1999 to 2003 is a classic example. A noteworthy aspect with regard to coffee culture however is that the few major coffee producers namely Brazil, Yemen and Haiti often determine global prices. A dip in production of coffee from these regions due to many reasons such as coffee rust disease, often leads to high global coffee prices. Additionally, the coffee culture has witnessed the use of varied tactics in order to control production, influence global prices among a host of other reasons.
The article offers insights into the intricacies of coffee farming globally. Through the insights, the coffee market is presented as a volatile market. Various factors often contribute to this volatility and with them, comes dire consequences. In a bid to mitigate against this crises, various agreements have been signed hitherto as the article records. A noteworthy agreement in this regard is the 1940 Inter-American Coffee agreement that ushered in the era of America’s dominancy as the global coffee buyer. Recently however, fair trade in the coffee market has been embraced with the WTO (World Trade Organization) being the globally recognized fair trade association. In as much as strides towards combating coffee related issues have been made through fair trade, challenges still abound the main one being the rise of prices beyond minimum fair trade prices. Finally, the articles advocates support for business that abide by fundamental fair trade principles. In this way, community and sustainability can be fostered.
Work cited
Tucker, Catherine M. Coffee culture: Local experiences, global connections. Routledge, 2011.
