STiR coffee and tea magazine

12 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 2, 2022 (April / May) ICO Pushback on Uganda's Stated Reasons for Withdrawal The International Coffee Organization (ICO) issued a press release taking issue with statements made by the Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) characterizing its reasons for withdrawing from ICO effective February 2. "We want to have our interests catered for," said UCDA managing director Emmanuel Iyamulemye in an interview on Feb 11 in Uganda's capital city Kampala. "We think the ICO needs reforms. This was reported in the Feb 15 STiR Newsletter. However ICO says that way back in March 2019 that ICC, the highest decision-making body in the organization established a working group on the future of the International Coffee Agreement (WGFA) to update and reform the current agreement. "Participation in WGFA is open to all ICO members," said ICO. "Nevertheless, Ugandan representatives have not been actively participating in this process and have never submitted any proposal for change based on their vision and interest, nor on the issues raised in the UCDA statement of 9 February." According to a report in Reuters, Uganda present Yoweri Museveni has long complained about lopsided trade rules that "rob the likes of Uganda in trade commodities such as coffee." In its statement, UCDA expressed concern about various aspects of the ICO agreement and its renegotiation. ICO say three of the seven concerns raised by Uganda have no actual linkage with the agreement itself and neither UCDA or Ugandan authorities never addressed them within ICO sessions of the council or in any other meetings of its subsidiary bodies, such as the statistical committee. With regard to the other four concerns, ICO says it," has never received any proposals for change in any of its forums from Uganda." ICO says these four issues raised by UCDA are already addressed in the current ICA and are being revised by ICO members as part of the WGFA process. "Therefore, the ICO secretariat is of the opinion that the Ugandan coffee sector would be better served by staying in the current ICA, and together with all other ICO exporting and importing members, participating in the drafting of the new agreement based on its interest, in a true spirit of multilateralism that has always guided the participation of Uganda in international forums." ICO says its members would have welcomed the contributions of Uganda to WGFA, adding as an old African proverb says, "You cannot claim your share of the meal while you are not at the dinner table." Arabica coffee prices are up 30% in the last few weeks to their highest in almost seven years, as a severe cold front threatens to damage crops in Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer. Brazil: Cold Weather on Top of Drought; Arabica Up 30% in February Severe frosts in mid-February damaged around 11% of Brazil's total arabica crop area. This of course comes upon the drought damage reported extensively in STiR coffee and tea magazine last August which effected another 15% of the arabica crop. Coffee trees are extremely sensitive to frost, which can cause severe damage and even kill trees completely. If a farm needs to replant trees, production would take around three years. "This marks the first time since 1994 that the country has experienced such a weather event," coffee trader I & M Smith said in a market update, referring to the July 20 harsh frosts as reported by Reuters. "The extent of the damage is still unclear, however estimates are now between 5.5 million and 9 million (60 kg) bags, up from 2 million to 3 million last week," said Charles Sargeant, softs and agricultural commodity broker at Britannia Global Markets. There have been drought and weather related shortfalls in key coffee producing areas this year as already reported in STiR coffee and tea, see previous stories in STiR on Colombia, Nicaragua, Indone- sia, and Vietnam. Female worker harvesting ripe red coffee beans. (Photo Credit: Dreamstime.com) ILO and IWCA Join Partnership for Women Coffee Workers The International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Women's Coffee Alliance(IWCA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) establishing a collaborative partnership to create a safer, more sustainable coffee supply chain for women in the interna- tional coffee community. IWCA facilitates programs and partnerships in support of their global chapter network, representing women in 29 countries who depend on coffee for their livelihoods. Engaging with the ILO's Vision Zero Fund will provide IWCA chapter members with valuable opportunities to attend technical trainings and improve their occupational health and safety knowledge. Vision Zero Fund promotes collective action that mobilizes a wide range of stakeholders, including global business, to develop and imple- ment joint solutions to address endemic safety and health challenges in global supply chains. It is active in the agriculture, construction, garment, and textile supply chains, and currently implements projects in eight countries on three continents. "Women face many occupational hazards that are rarely recognized, since women's work in the household or farm are culturally not considered as professional endeavors," said Sarada Krishnan, IWCA global executive director. "To overcome this and to make the women's work environment safe, women-specific training programs need to be offered. I am thrilled about our partnership with the International Labor Organization, which will allow us to develop gender specific interventions through joint trainings, research, and events." Coffee Report:

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