Summer 2012 [pdf] - The Mill Hill Missionaries

Let’s Have aCoffee“BLACK GOLD”Before your next cup of coffee,some things to remember:• Coffee originated in the highlandsof southern Ethiopia in the 5thcentury; this part of the worldtoday produces some of the besthigh grade quality coffee in theworld.• Coffee is the second mostimportant commodity (after oil) inworld trade today.• Today, 15 million people inEthiopia depend on coffee for theirsurvival. It accounts for 67% of thecountry’s foreign export income.• BUT, the average coffee farmerreceives less than 3 US cents for acup of coffee that might cost 3 USdollars.• In Ethiopia an average of 7 millionpeople need emergency assistanceevery year.• Coffee prices are controlled byexchanges in New York andLondon.• Four bigmultinationalcompanies dominatethe world coffeemarket, and makehuge profits.• Poor coffee farmersare the victims offluctuating prices fortheir produce; thereare no governmentsubsidies (such asprotect farmersin the developedworld.)But can we do anything in theface of these problems?• In many coffee-growing areas (e.g.in Ethiopia and in Kenya) thereare now well-run cooperatives thattry to cut-out the ‘middle-men’and allow more profit to reach thesmall peasant-farmers.• “Fairtrade Coffee” is boughtfrom such farming cooperatives,and is now sold in mostsupermarkets.• The small farmers thus get abigger share of the price we payfor our cup of coffee. They canthen afford to send their childrento school, improve their diet, andhave access to medical services.• Coffee cooperatives use theprofits from the sales to fundlocal projects that benefit thewhole community, e.g. schools,health-centres, water-supplies,bridges, etc.Town square in Ethiopian coffee area.16 17