Products
Coffee is one of the most valuable primary products in world trade (it is the second most traded commodity after oil!!) and its cultivation, processing and trading provide employment for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Coffee production and export is also crucial to the economies of several countries in the South, where the cultivation of coffee usually accounts for the majority of foreign exchange earnings.
The global market for coffee has been often characterised by extreme price volatility and over-production, which exacerbated in a real coffee crisis at the beginning of 2000s. Almost overnight, world coffee prices fell to an extreme low of US$45 cents/pound, which brought thousands of small farmers in Africa, Asia and Central/Latin America to lose their livelihoods.
Fairtrade's response to the unpredictable coffee market is to provide a security net that allows producers, usually small farmers organised in cooperatives, to receive a fair price that covers their costs of living and sustainable production - US$1,35/pound. A Fairtrade Premium of US$0,20/pound is added to the price and is used for social and economic investments that the small farmers find necessary for their business and their communities. 25% of the Premium must be spend in productivity and quality improvements.
Fairtrade coffees available in South Africa
BEAN THERE
By: Bean There Coffee Company
Organic: yes
Available at: selected Pick n Pays, online, and in Bean There coffee shops
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CIRO COFFEE
By: Ciro Beverage Solutions
Organic: no
Available at: please contact CIRO for distribution
FABINO COFFEE
By: Fabino
Organic: yes
Available at (Cape Town only): Continental Deli (Camps Bay), Giovanni's (Green Point), Oakhurst Farmstall (Kenilworth), Organic Living (Constantia Village), Organic Zone (Lakeside) and selected Spar stores
PURO COFFEE
By: Miko Africa
Organic: no
Available at: please contact Miko Africa
WOOLWORTHS COFFEE
By: Woolworths
Organic: yes
Available at: all W Cafes in South Africa
