Starbucks Keeps Ethiopian Growers Humble
Illo by Starbucks
From The Guardian: “Starbucks, the coffee beans, and the copyright row that cost Ethiopia £47m.”
Starbucks, the giant US coffee chain, has used its muscle to block an attempt by Ethiopia’s farmers to copyright their most famous coffee bean types, denying them potential earnings of up to £47m a year, said Oxfam.
The development agency said the Ethiopian government last year filed copyright applications to trademark its most famous coffee names—Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe. Securing the rights to these names would enable the impoverished African country to control their use in the market and allow farmers to receive a greater share of the retail price.
The move would have increased its annual export earnings from coffee by 25 percent. But Oxfam said Starbucks, which enjoyed a 22 percent rise in annual global turnover to £7.8bn in the year to October, has acted to block Ethiopia’s application to the US Patent and Trademark Office. The USPTO has denied Ethiopia’s applications for Sidamo and Harar, creating serious obstacles for its project.
Oxfam had a one-year cooperation agreement in 2004 with Starbucks which saw both provide support to coffee farmers in Ethiopia as part of wider attempts to reduce poverty in the country. But Oxfam now feels that the Seattle-based company’s attitude is questionable.
Phil Bloomer, Oxfam’s policy director, said: “Starbucks has made some progress towards helping poor farmers in recent years, but their behaviour on this occasion is a huge backwards step, and raises serious questions about the depth of their commitment to the welfare of their suppliers. By acting responsibly, they could set an example for others by supporting Ethiopia’s plan to help the 15 million struggling Ethiopian farmers who depend on coffee for their survival.”
This bit in particular caught my eye:
Starbucks insisted, however, that it was committed to paying premium prices to producers in more than 27 countries and its purchases of Ethiopian coffee had grown by more than 400 percent in the past four years. It said it paid an average of $1.23 (65p) per pound last year, 23 percent above average market prices.
Ah, but how would you know, Starbucks? According to your own Web site, you only have economic-transparency requirements for 59 percent of all coffee purchases. This means, contractually, you have no way of knowing how much of the “premium prices” you pay actually go to the farmers—and not to voracious middlemen—41 percent of the time. (Props, as always, to Green LA Girl for pointing this out.)
Under the fair-trade model, where transparency and direct trade are key, importers are required to pay a minimum of $1.26 per pound of coffee beans (plus a 15-cent-per-pound premium if it is also certified organic). Only 3.7 percent of Starbucks’ total coffee is fair-trade-certified, yet it accounts for 25 percent of the fair-trade coffee imported into the U.S. Obviously we’re talking about a company with the wherewithal to make a significant difference but is, instead, content to pay the minimum social premium for maximum public-relations benefits in a real-time, live version of Risk: Caffeinate & Conquer, while starving African infants are crushed beneath the spiked wheels of the capitalist war machine. In other words, “socially responsible” my flat, yellow fanny.
Tadesse Meskela, head of the Oromia coffee farmers cooperative union in Ethiopia, and who was featured in Black Gold, sums up the coffee crisis small-scale coffee farmers and farm workers at the very bottom of the supply chain are facing.
“Coffee shops can sell Sidamo and Harar coffees for up to £14 a pound because of the beans’ specialty status. But Ethiopian coffee farmers only earn between 30p and 59p for their crop, barely enough to cover the cost of production.
“We sell organic coffee for less than £1 a pound but that pound can make 52 specials in coffee shops selling for £2 each, meaning the retailer is selling it for £104. The people who are producing this in Ethiopia don’t have enough food, clean water or health centres.
“Farmers are losing out while others in the chain are making huge amounts of money. That is hugely unfair.”
Additional resources:
1. Oxfam Press Release
azgoddess said,
October 26, 2006 at 4:21 pm
the coffee industry is just one of ways corps keep their thumb on developing countries…sigh
budak said,
October 28, 2006 at 10:17 pm
Don’t know if you drink beer, but here’s a take on globeerization… http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/3637
The Worsted Witch » Small-Coffeehouse Owner Calls Out Starbucks said,
December 20, 2006 at 1:20 pm
[...] Related articles: 1. Starbucks Keeps Ethiopian Growers Humble 2. Hub’s Guest Review: Black Gold 3. Good Cup, Bad Cup 4. Fast Food Planet 5. Wake Up and Smell the Fair-Trade Coffee [...]
The Worsted Witch » said,
February 12, 2007 at 5:55 pm
[...] Starbucks donates half a million to Ethiopia’s coffee-growing regions. Hmmm … olive branch or green washing? [...]
The Worsted Witch » Larry’s Beans said,
June 1, 2007 at 12:12 am
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