The International Coffee Organisation (ICO), the main governmental forum for the industry, must do more to help millions of poor small-scale farmers to survive and compete in the global market, development group Oxfam said on Monday.
The ICO is expected to address the future of its operating charter, the International Coffee Agreement, at meetings this week in London. The current charter, set to expire next year, promotes world-wide coffee consumption and aims to foster a sustainable coffee economy.
"The current discussions on the future of the ICA present an historic opportunity to address the ongoing crisis facing small-scale coffee farmers and farmworkers," Seth Petchers, Oxfam International's lead coffee campaigner, said in a statement.
Oxfam, with at least 12 groups around the world aiming to help small-scale farmers, is calling on the ICO to ensure farmers and farm workers have fair representation alongside coffee companies, get technical assistance and have access to credit.
The groups have also urged the ICO to create transparent information systems for all parties. The ICO was not immediately available for comment on Monday.
Coffee is produced in more than 60 countries, making it one of the most traded and volatile commodities in the world. Some 25 million farming families depend on the crop for survival.
In 1999 bean values plunged to an historic low because of overproduction from large producing countries like Brazil and Vietnam. Since then prices have rallied, but the global market remains volatile.
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