Fair Trade Coffee Philosophy

Introduction and Problem Coming out of a coffee store with a cup of coffee in hand early in the morning is a familiar picture to many people. Nevertheless, how many ever wonder how many cups of coffee are sold per day and where is the coffee coming from? The truth might surprise people that coffee bean trading is an ethical trading problem. Coffee is the second most actively traded commodity in the world which has increased from $30 billion to $80 billion in retail sales since 1990. Approximately 25 million farmers in 50 developing countries produce coffee as their main job to earn money. According to the International Coffee Organization, the coffee price was $1.42 per pound in 1999. Later on 2001, there are various producers entered the coffee market and the market had reached saturation. Thus, 115 million bags of coffee were being produced but only 105 million could be sold. Coffee prices dropped to $0.42 per pound. High supply and low demand caused devastation to the lives of 25 million coffee farmers. While private traders and middle men earned more profit, the farmers had striven to alleviate poverty. Indeed, in this ethical issue, who is to blame and what can we do to make a difference? International Fair Trade Association (now WFTO) established by Fair Trade pioneers as the first global Fair Trade network. Its role is very important because it provides better economic, social and environmental benefits for farmers. This paper argues why all coffee producers have responsibility to purchase fair trade coffee to develop their moral code in business.
Fairness
The main purpose of Fair Trade is curing poverty and distribute fairness. It helps to ensures that farmers are being paid their fair share and are not being taken advantage of. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee and the largest producer of coffee in Africa. Over 15 million people in Ethiopia depend on growing coffee to survive; and 67 percent of Ethiopia’s export revenue comes from