Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1034837
STiR coffee and tea 55 HST Tea Bag Machines better simple econom ic Giant pot size Double chamber tea bags knotted or stapled fl avour save fl avour save H&S Tee-Gesellschaft | eMail: machines@hst.eu | www.HST.eu AUG 18 SEP 18 Sobering Fundamentals • Prices for all group indicators fell for the fourth consecutive month in September. • Several producing countries including Brazil and Vietnam predict big harvests. • Consumption is up globally but a 10 million 60-kilo bag surplus is predicted. Government action In Colombia, where coffee is the third- largest export by revenue, and where 556,000 smallholders grow the coffee, the senate is preparing a bill to subsidize fair prices and assure farmers of many of the country's main crops and livestock a livable income. The National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia chairman Roberto Velez recognizes that it's impossible to go back to the days in the 1960s and 1970s when a coffee grower with 20 hectares was a wealthy man. "Today we have a fundamentally changed world economy, a new macroeconomic environment," he said. For him "in that context, the former sustainability fund needed to become a stabilization fund, meaning that when prices are high you collect some revenue, and when prices fall, simply give that money back to the grower. This will establish a ceiling and a floor for prices." The retail sector can help If more big retailers like Starbucks and 7-Eleven commit to buying 100% ethically sourced coffee (in partnerships with NGOs like Conservation International and Rain- forest Alliance) then consumers in wealthy countries will automatically be supporting farmers in less wealthy places. There are a growing number of ethical-coffee start-ups based on this principle. Specialty roaster and wholesaler Counter Culture Coffee's latest sustainability report details its relationships with 67 different farmers and farmer groups, aiming to provide transparency into its environmental, social, and fiscal sustainability. It also provides in- formation about each of the 354 coffee contracts the company made over the last two harvests. And in conjunction with the new report, it has launched "Frank", a coffee meant to bring attention to the amount of money farmers make, in comparison with actual living wages. As the business site Tradeready noted, "consumers can send the message that ethi- cal behavior is important to them" by choosing to support brands that verifiably imple- ment ethical sourcing. 7-Eleven's switch from an uncertified Colombian product to a Monday Sep 17, 2018 $0.9585