The International Coffee Crisis: A Review of the Issues

Abstract

This chapter details the decrease in coffee export earnings and coffee producer cooperatives’ efforts to gain access to international networks through mobilization for organic coffee and Fair Trade. The root causes of the global coffee crisis are analyzed along with the breakdown of the International Coffee Agreement regime in 1989, which is considered to be the origin of the crisis. The chapter discusses the use of product differentiation strategies by café chains to decommoditize their coffee brand and charge premium prices, leading to retail coffee price stability. Conditions for attaining sustainable coffee agro-ecosystems are explored, along with the sustainability of production technologies. Contradictions and paradoxes in the organic coffee certification process are discussed, along with global regulations of organic and social certification standards for coffee production.

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