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"The reason that the multinationals are going to the farmers and offering
cash is not because the co-operatives aren't offering what they need, but
in order to weaken the co-operatives, cause them to default on established
contracts and ideally get rid of them. That way, when the coffee price
comes back down, which it will, they will be in the perfect position to
once again exploit the farmers by dictating scandalously low prices that
don't even cover the cost of production" - Paul Rodin.
CafedirectTV 9 months ago
@CafedirectTV Thanks for the reply.
Hearing this makes me wonder what solutions there could be to this.
To ensure supply, what could cooperatives offer smallholders to make it more attractive to sell to them & not middlemen?
Could cooperatives also offer upfront cash to smallholders?
Could contracts between cooperatives & their customers be improved to better handle severe price fluctuations like the one we're now seeing?
I hope the cooperatives find ways to overcome these difficulties.
davidmcnaught 9 months ago
@davidmcnaught Whilst middlemen continue to demand the lowest price with no interest in
longterm sustainability; the co-operatives will face these challenges.
Cafédirect sources directly from co-operatives, working in partnership to
understand their issues. We offer a minimum price, Fairtrade
social premium and fund projects to build sustainable businesses
& communities through our sales. The reality is that you have the power to
decide where your coffee comes from & how it is purchased.
CafedirectTV 9 months ago
This is interesting, but I'm unclear as to why the 'multinationals' had to go directly to the smallholders in this situation.
Aren't the cooperatives supposed to be effective in marketing the coffee grown by the smallholders who use them to get the best prices? Why were the multinationals not able to get what they need through the cooperatives?
In theory it should be easier for a multinational to deal with cooperatives than smallholders, so what prevented them doing so in this instance?
davidmcnaught 9 months ago