Table of Contents
Traditional Coffee Producers????????????3
Brazil??????????????????????????..4
Colombia?????????????????????????4
Costa Rica????????????????????????..5
Jamaica?????????????????????????...5
Ethiopia?????????????????????????..6
Emerging Low Cost Producers???????????..7
Vietnam?????????????????????????..7
Overview of the Global Coffee Market????????.9
What Caused the Crisis ??????????????12
The Breakdown of the International Coffee Agreement??????..12
The Fair Trade Movement??????????????????16
Will the Quotas Work Again?????????????????18
The New International Coffee Agreement Brings Hope?20
Encouraging Numbers???????????????????..21
Conclusions???????????????????24
References???????????????????..25
Traditional Coffee Producers
Coffee is produced in many countries around the globe. There are two cultivated species of the coffee tree ? Arabica and Robusta. Coffee trees produce their best beans in high altitudes in a tropical climate where there is rich soil. Such conditions are found around the world in locations along the Equatorial zone, between latitudes 25 degrees North and 30 degrees South.
A lot of factors affect the quality and flavor of coffee, such as the variety of the plant, the amount of rainfall and sunshine, and the altitude at which the coffee grows.
Higher altitudes usually mean better quality coffee.
These factors along with the way the cherries are processed after being picked contribute to the differences between coffees from growing regions and countries worldwide.
Figure 1 Coffee producing countries
Note:From www.nationalgeographic.com/coffee/map.html
Brazil ...