The State of Sustainable Markets 2022

First published in 2015, this report is now updated annually on the state of sustainable markets. The International Trade Centre has teamed up once again with the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture and the International Institute for Sustainable Development to provide data about 14 major sustainability standards for bananas, cocoa, coffee, cotton, forestry products, oil palm, soybeans, sugarcane and tea.

The report presents market and statistical data on these sectors as well as at-a-glance tables on products and the following standards: 4C Services (4C), Better Cotton, Bonsucro, Cotton made in Africa (CmiA), Fairtrade International (Fairtrade), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), GLOBALG.A.P., IFOAM – Organics International (organic), the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), ProTerra Foundation (ProTerra), Rainforest Alliance (Rainforest), the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) and UTZ.

Data from the latest survey (2020 data) demonstrate how certified agriculture and forestry continue to grow, in line with an expanding global population and increasing demand for sustainable products. The rising share of total area and production volume covered by voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) suggests there is significant potential for further growth.

Download the report

 

 

What Are We Getting from Voluntary Sustainability Standards for Coffee?

From: Centre for Global Development

Abstract

"Demand for and supply of “sustainable” coffee (and other commodities) have grown markedly for two decades, as has the literature analyzing the effects of voluntary sustainability standards for coffee. The evidence for assessing the impacts for smallholder producers and the environment remains relatively weak, however. A relatively small number of studies use methods that allow researchers to attribute observed outcomes to sustainability certifications. 

This paper reviews research from the past decade on the effects of coffee sustainability schemes to see what we have learned about the impact of such schemes, and whether positive livelihood effects are mainly the result of relatively better off households choosing to participate. Overall, the available research suggests that certification schemes can be beneficial, but context matters, and the poorest, most vulnerable smallholder producers are able to comply with sustainability standards only with substantial external help."

Read the report by Kimberly Ann Elliott

EFICO Group to support World Coffee Research Global Coffee Monitoring Program

The EFICO Group announces a US$90,000 contribution to World Coffee Research. This commitment supports the industry-backed, nonprofit R&D organization to bring improved varieties and climate-smart agronomy approaches to farmers.

EFICO’s contribution via its Foundation will support a global network of farmer field trials—called the Global Coffee Monitoring Program—to test which combinations of improved varieties and climate-smart farming practices deliver the most profit to the farmer. The approach is innovative on multiple fronts: testing improved technologies on a farmer’s own land and not in a research station, prioritizing farmer profitability and return on investment, and working together with farmers, exporters, NGOs, and governments to implement the trials.

In supporting WCR’s program, EFICO proactively seeks for long term solutions towards farmers’ resilience and profitability, climate change and sustainable and productive coffee landscapes , ” says EFICO Group CEO Michel Germanès. “Research-based field trials and knowledge transfer are essential to enhance the transition to a more sustainable coffee future. This will benefit all actors in the supply chain, with coffee farming communities at the forefront.”

EFICO is supporting a minimum of 12 sites in Guatemala and Honduras which will return data for at least 5 years. In 2018, WCR expects 180 farm trials will be installed.

By 2022 the full network will have nearly 1,200 trials ongoing.

For more information about World Coffee Research and its programs, please visit worldcoffeeresearch.org

For more information about Efico and Efico Foundation: efico.com

Rombouts Coffee Has Introduced a Series of Fairtrade Varieties

From www.trendhunter.com 

"The brand has announced the launch of two new varieties including 'Déca Aqua' and 'Bio & Fairtrade,' which are both crafted from Fairtrade ingredients as well as boasting an organic profile."

Read further on TrendHunter

The future of certified coffee

The certified coffee sector re-thinks its strategy among growing private schemes.

Lire l'article de "Global Coffee Report"

Coffee, climate change and what it means for bees

From blog.ciat.cgiar.org 

Climate change could reduce the suitability of lands for growing coffee in Latin America by as much as 88 percent by 2050, according to new research. Bees will take a hit too - but they could also be part of the solution.

Read further 

Certified coffee, rightless workers

The fifth issue of Monitor – a newsletter that publishes Repórter Brasil’s studies on industries and production chains – reveals that even certified coffee farms still fail to guarantee workers’ rights.

The issue published in December 2016 enumerates several labor infractions by coffee farms in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. 

Included in the report are claims of farms employing unregistered workers, paying below minimum wage, not fully paying workers, and not providing mandatory benefits.

Download the report

Vietnam faces dilemma on forests as climate change threatens coffee crops

From news.mongabay.com 

• Research shows that Vietnam may lose 50 percent of its current Robusta coffee production areas by 2050.
• 550,000 smallholder farmers supply over 95 percent of Vietnam’s coffee, while another 500,000 people are engaged in seasonal work in the industry.
• In order to continue growing this crop, the country can cut down forests to make space, or embrace them.
  

Read further the article of Michael Tatarski 

Café de Colombia: Taking Sustainability a Step Further To Increase Coffee Grower Income

From www.federaciondecafeteros.org 

"Under the frame of the 83rd National Coffee Growers Congress, the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) announced that efforts to define a Café de Colombia sustainability standard are underway. Café de Colombia 100% Sustainable will be a code of conduct that will guarantee stakeholders (customers, industry, buyers, governments, academia) that the processes and products verified under this instrument meet sustainability standards."

Read further

A Brewing Storm: The climate change risks to coffee

From fairtrade.com.au 

A new report from the Climate Institute shows coffee quality and cost will be impacted by climate change, but there are things we can do today.

Read further

Ethiopia’s coffee could be its salvation against growing drought - The Independent

The agricultural sector now accounts for nearly half its GDP, and the country is boosting coffee production with the help of Fairtrade. In much of the world, coffee is a social lubricant, an indulgence, a morning eye-opener. In Ethiopia, it is also the backbone of the economy and now, as the country faces its worst drought in 50 years, it may also be its lifeline." 

Read Further

Ethiopia, Oromia - coffee producer interviews

Ethiopia, Oromia - coffee producer interviews - YouTube

Fighting coffee rust in Latin America - FLO

"Climate change is already severely impacting the coffee sector and affecting Fairtrade producers worldwide. Coffee diseases have increased in intensity and are found in areas and altitudes where they haven’t been seen before."

Read further: Fairtrade International (FLO): Fighting coffee rust in Latin America

Puro Fairtrade Coffee

From www.youtube.com

"Puro Fairtrade coffee is lovingly blended, roasted and packed in Turnhout, Belgium by Miko, a company that has been roasting coffee since 1801 and is in fact older than their own country! The team at Miko don't ever get cold feet because the heat generated from the coffee roasting process is recuperated and used to warm the offices and the production floor." 

Arabica coffee yields decline in Tanzania due to climate change

A new study, conducted by researchers at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa, claims that arabica coffee yields decline in Tanzania due to climate change.

According to the study, published in the journal Agricultural and Forests Meteorology, for each 1-degree Celsius rise in nighttime temperatures, Arabica coffee yields are likely to decline by approximately 137 kilograms of coffee per hectare. That is almost half the average small producer’s production, which is currently 225 kilograms per hectare.

If trends continue as has been observed during recent decades, the study says, then Arabica coffee production in Tanzania will drop to 145 kg per hectare by the year 2060.

This research is part of the CGIAR program on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). 

Download the study

Food Standards, Certification, and Poverty among Coffee Farmers in Uganda

GlobalFood Discussion Papers. N°27 
Authors: Brian Chiputwa, Matin Qaim, David J. Spielman.

Summary

"Private standards are gaining in importance in global markets for high-value foods. We analyze and compare impacts of three sustainability oriented standards – Fairtrade, Organic, and UTZ – on the livelihoods of smallholder coffee farmers in Uganda. Using survey data and propensity score matching with multiple treatments, we find that Fairtrade 

certification increases household living standards by 30% and significantly reduces the prevalence and depth of poverty. For the other two certification schemes, no significant impacts are found. Institutional factors that may explain differential impacts are discussed. 

Overly general statements about the effects of standards on smallholder livelihoods may be misleading."

Download the paper. 

Have a look at others GlobalFood Discussion Papers

Research finds Fairtrade fails the poorest workers in Ethiopia and Uganda

Fairtrade certified coffee, tea and flowers do not improve lives of the very poorest rural people in Ethiopia and Uganda, according to a four-year research project conducted by leading development economists at SOAS, University of London. The project studied rural labour markets in areas producing crops for export, under different institutional conditions that included, in some research sites, Fairtrade certification.

More information and download the report

Fairtrade International's comments on the report

Unpeeling the Impacts of Poverty, Harriet Lamb, CEO of Fairtrade International, on the Huffington Post (United Kingdom)

Response to SOAS report: Fairtrade Foundation, UK

Fairtrade and Poverty Reduction: ISEAL Alliance’s Response to the SOAS Report

The Impacts of Fair Trade Certification: Evidence From Coffee Producers in Costa Rica - Harvard University

The authors of the study estimate the effects of Fair Trade (FT) certification on coffee producers in Costa Rica. They begin by examining a panel of all coffee producers between 1999 and 2010. They find that FT certification is associated with higher export prices equal to approximately 5 cents per pound. They find no evidence that certification is associated with more sales (either domestic or for export) or with higher domestic prices. Linking the mill-level information on FT certification to individual-level survey data, the authors find that FT certification does increase incomes, but only for skilled coffee growers and farm owners. According to them, there is no evidence that many workers, including unskilled seasonal coffee pickers, benefit from certification.

Nunn N, Dragusanu R. The Impacts of Fair Trade Certification: Evidence From Coffee Producers in Costa Rica. 2014.

Download the study

U.S. acts as ‘coffee rust’ disease ravages Central American ‘fair trade’ crops

From www.rawstory.com 

"The U.S. government announced Monday a new $5 million effort to fight a disease savaging Central America’s “fair trade” coffee bean harvest and pressuring the price of a morning cup.

The U.S. Agency for International Development said the outbreak of coffee rust has caused $1 billion in damage in Central and South America and the Caribbean since 2012 and threatens a half-million jobs."

Read further the article.

Coffee in the United States Sustainability Trends

From publications.gc.ca