Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 4 • Number 17 • 23rd September 2004

Coffee Companies Agree to Code of Conduct

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On 10 September an international alliance of more than 70 representatives of coffee farmers, commerce and industry, non-governmental organisations and unions concluded a draft Common Code for the Coffee Community (CCCC) in Hamburg, Germany. While Swiss-based food giant Nestle, US firms Kraft Foods and Sara Lee, as well as German-based Tchibo presented the voluntary code of conduct, it remains unclear as to when the pact will be signed. Signatories will commit to pay minimum salaries, stop using child labour, allow trade union membership and adhere to international environmental standards on pesticide and water pollution. The agreement comes in response to concerns from consumer and environmental groups that companies are exploiting low prices and poor working conditions in a world coffee market glutted with excess supply. Nestle welcomed the coffee code, saying, “The code is an excellent idea. It is in our own interest because it helps to guarantee supplies and quality standards”. Ian Bretnam, deputy director of the Fairtrade Foundation, said anything that improved workers’ conditions had to be welcomed. However, he also noted that the code “seems to be largely focused on plantation workers and doesn’t address the fundamental problem of the slump in prices”. According to Oxfam International, coffee prices are at the lowest in thirty years. Adding to the controversy, the prominent environmental group Greenpeace has withdrawn from the initiative, owing to the failure of the pact to commit to the exclusion of gene technology in favour of sustainable and ecological coffee production.

In related developments, the US announced its intent to rejoin the International Coffee Organisation, ICO (see BRIDGES Weekly, 22 September 2004). The ICO is the main intergovernmental organisation for coffee, bringing together producing and consuming countries to tackle the challenges facing the world coffee sector through international cooperation. Coffee producers globally are in a state of crisis owing to low prices and oversupply of coffee beans. The decision by the US to join the ICO is seen by many as a gesture in support of the ICO dialogue as well as a recognition of the need to engage not only producing but also consuming countries.

“Coffee industry agrees code of conduct,” SWISSINFO, 10 September 2004; “United States to Rejoin the International Coffee Organization,” ICO, 16 September 2004.