Coffee is second only to oil as the most traded commodity in the world, and the United States is its largest consumer. While the average cost for a pound of coffee ranges from $3.00 to almost $40.00, the average third world coffee farmer receives only 25 to 50 cents. Though a good yield can garner close to $10,000 a year for the average farmer, by the time that same yield hits the cup in the US, it is worth more than three-quarters of a million dollars.
Before harvested coffee beans make it to the US, they are bought and sold by middlemen, who set the per pound price paid to disadvantaged farmers. Though there have been initiatives to curb the middleman’s influence, there hasn’t necessarily been a way to side-step them completely, until now.
Fair trade organizations, such as Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) and FLO-CERT, provide strict guidelines that follow coffee beans from plant to finished product. When a product is designated Fair Trade Certified(TM), it means it has been produced for a fair price, under safe and healthy conditions, and in accordance with direct trade standards that give the farmer more control and allow them to compete globally. Fair trade organizations also work with farmers to promote community development programs and environmentally sustaining farming practices.
Source : articlesbase
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