The origins of the coffee industry can inform the shipping, import-export, and sales techniques of other commodities. Coffee has been around for hundreds of years, originating in Ethiopia and becoming popular among Arab communities. The industry became global in the 20th century, but the reliance on coffee as a cash crop has led to abusive treatment of workers. The fair trade movement has expanded into the coffee sector, with some major retailers offering fair trade products.
Provenance is probably not the first thing you think of when you take that first sip of coffee in the morning. However, the origins of the coffee industry are instructive and parallel to the origins of the global economy in general. How beans grown in Ethiopia or Papua New Guinea end up in cups around the world can inform the shipping, import-export and sales techniques of a multitude of other commodities.
As a product and commodity, coffee has been around for hundreds of years. The coffee plant is native to the part of Africa now known as Ethiopia. Its seeds – the beans that are roasted and ground to make coffee – were first used to make the beverage as early as the 9th century. By the 1400s, coffee had become popular among Arab communities and was being traded with Westerners along with other exotic substances such as silk and nutmeg.
Once introduced to Europeans, coffee became very popular despite initial condemnation by religious authorities as a “Muslim drink”. By the 1600s, the drink was officially accepted and coffeehouses became the de facto centers of activity in cities such as Amsterdam, London and Paris. Huge import concerns have been established over the shipment of coffee beans to European ports. Interestingly, it was in fact Dutch and non-Arab traders who brought coffee to the Pacific Islands and Indonesia, where it became an extremely important crop.
In the 20th century, the coffee industry was truly global, with the vast majority of beans supplied by developing countries in Africa, South and Central America and the Pacific. Studies conducted in the early 21st century estimate that over 100 million people in countries such as Rwanda, Peru and Indonesia rely on the coffee industry for their livelihoods.
The high reliance on coffee as a cash crop by working poor around the world has led, almost inevitably in hindsight, to abusive treatment of workers by coffee producers and exporters. For much of the 20th century, tenants and other workers were systematically forced into slave-like contracts to produce coffee at a minuscule profit for themselves. In response to these conditions, the fair trade movement – in which a reasonable unit price for a commodity is negotiated and contractually guaranteed before harvest – has begun to expand into the coffee sector.
By 2005, one-half of one percent of all coffee produced worldwide was sourced directly from farmers on a fair trade basis. Fair trade coffee continues to grow in popularity and becomes more of a mainstream product. Some of the largest players in the retail coffee industry, including Starbucks, have made Fair Trade products a significant percentage of their total offerings. Since 2003, for example, American coffee retailer Dunkin ‘Donuts has been making its espresso products exclusively with Fair Trade beans.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
