Fair Trade coffee in Mexico: At the center of the debates

Abstract

In this chapter we describe how Fair Trade contributed to strengthening small producer coffee organizations in a period of crisis, and how these organizations are attempting to move beyond a market niche strategy to pursue a more ambitious development goal. This goal will not be achieved without confronting a number of problems. Current concerns include competitive pressures from transnational exporting firms, the continued precariousness of small-scale producer livelihoods, and the lack of knowledge of Fair Trade that leads some producers to sell their coffee to “coyotes” (local intermediaries), weakening their own organization. Other challenges are coming from within the Fair Trade movement through the rise of complex regulation and certification organizations, as producer organizations see themselves increasingly in a struggle to keep Fair Trade from abandoning its founding objective of supporting small-scale producers.

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