Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Fair-trade coffee to be sold in U.K.
Bloomberg News: Nestle SA, the world's largest buyer of green coffee, will start selling a brand of "fair-trade" coffee in the United Kingdom to grab a share of one of the industry's fastest-growing markets.
Nescafe Partners Blend instant coffee will debut in mid-October, Nestle's U.K. unit said.
Switzerland-based Nestle is introducing fair-trade coffee -- which guarantees growers a minimum price for their crops -- as more consumers seek out such products on store shelves.
U.K. sales of fair-trade coffee are rising almost 20 percent annually, compared with a yearly drop of 1 percent for instant coffee, according to figures cited by Cafedirect, a British seller of fair-trade coffee.
"This is a step in the right direction for Nestle, albeit a small one," said Amy Barry, a spokeswoman on trade for Oxfam. The U.K.-based aid agency helped found Cafedirect.
The Partners' Blend coffee will be made from Arabica beans bought from farmers in El Salvador, Nestle said.
Surpised it took the U.K. to wait so long to join the Fair Trade Coffee band wagon.
Nescafe Partners Blend instant coffee will debut in mid-October, Nestle's U.K. unit said.
Switzerland-based Nestle is introducing fair-trade coffee -- which guarantees growers a minimum price for their crops -- as more consumers seek out such products on store shelves.
U.K. sales of fair-trade coffee are rising almost 20 percent annually, compared with a yearly drop of 1 percent for instant coffee, according to figures cited by Cafedirect, a British seller of fair-trade coffee.
"This is a step in the right direction for Nestle, albeit a small one," said Amy Barry, a spokeswoman on trade for Oxfam. The U.K.-based aid agency helped found Cafedirect.
The Partners' Blend coffee will be made from Arabica beans bought from farmers in El Salvador, Nestle said.
Surpised it took the U.K. to wait so long to join the Fair Trade Coffee band wagon.
# posted by Buck @ 9:39 PM 
