Friday, October 27, 2006
The real price of coffee
Ethiopian plantation workers are paid a daily rate that is a fraction of the price of one London espresso. Now growers are fighting for fairer trade.
By Stephen Castle
27 October 2006
"Coffee came first from Ethiopia," says Hailu Gebre Hiwot, president of the country's coffee exporters' association, as he sips on a cup of a deep, rich variety, "and so did mankind".
In a warehouse in Addis Ababa, where workers check the quality of tons of smooth, dark coffee beans, Mr Hiwot is musing on the unfairness of trade in a globalised world. While espresso, cappuccino and latte drinkers are bringing huge profits to some of the world's biggest multinationals, the place where coffee originated remains one of the poorest on Earth.
Around the world more than 2 billion cups of the stuff are consumed each day. In Starbucks in south London the cheapest shot of espresso costs £1.35. A coffee worker in Ethiopia earns less than half of that in a day.
Now the country where coffee was first consumed around 1,000 years ago is trying to get a fairer share of the proceeds. Growers are clubbing together to try to squeeze more money out of the export trade. Read the full article.
By Stephen Castle
27 October 2006
"Coffee came first from Ethiopia," says Hailu Gebre Hiwot, president of the country's coffee exporters' association, as he sips on a cup of a deep, rich variety, "and so did mankind".
In a warehouse in Addis Ababa, where workers check the quality of tons of smooth, dark coffee beans, Mr Hiwot is musing on the unfairness of trade in a globalised world. While espresso, cappuccino and latte drinkers are bringing huge profits to some of the world's biggest multinationals, the place where coffee originated remains one of the poorest on Earth.
Around the world more than 2 billion cups of the stuff are consumed each day. In Starbucks in south London the cheapest shot of espresso costs £1.35. A coffee worker in Ethiopia earns less than half of that in a day.
Now the country where coffee was first consumed around 1,000 years ago is trying to get a fairer share of the proceeds. Growers are clubbing together to try to squeeze more money out of the export trade. Read the full article.
# posted by Buck @ 10:38 PM 
