Benoit Daviron and Stefano Ponte have just published a book entitled “The coffee paradox: Global markets, commodity trade and the elusive promise of development”, (Zed Books: London; November 2005)
Can developing countries trade their way out of poverty?
International trade has grown dramatically in the last two decades in the global economy, and trade is an important source of revenue in developing countries. Yet, many low-income countries have been producing and exporting tropical commodities for a long time. They are still poor.
This book is an analytical contribution to understanding commodity production and trade, as well as putting forward policy-relevant suggestions for “solving” the commodity problem.
Through the study of the global value chain for coffee, the authors recast the “development problem” for countries relying on commodity exports in entirely new ways. They do so by analyzing the so-called coffee paradox – the coexistence of a “coffee boom” in consuming countries and of a “coffee crisis” in producing countries.
New consumption patterns have emerged with the growing importance of speciality, fair trade and other “sustainable” coffees. In consuming countries, coffee has become a fashionable drink and coffee bar chains have expanded rapidly. At the same time, international coffee prices have fallen dramatically and producers receive the lowest prices in decades.
This book shows that the coffee paradox exists because what farmers sell and what consumers buy are becoming increasingly “different” coffees. It is not material quality that contemporary coffee consumers pay for, it is mostly symbolic quality and in-person services. As long as coffee farmers and their organizations do not control at least parts of this “immaterial” production, they will keep receiving low prices.
The Coffee Paradox seeks ways out from this situation by addressing some key questions:
What kinds of quality attributes are combined in a coffee cup or coffee package? Who is producing these attributes? How can part of these attributes be produced by developing country farmers? To what extent are speciality and sustainable coffees achieving these objectives?
Benoit Daviron is an economist at CIRAD, Montpellier
Stefano Ponte is Senior Researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen
Anmeldelser
“A masterful job showing the limits to “free” trade in agricultural products as well as providing some concrete proposals as to what must be done to promote greater equity. The story of the global coffee trade is an essential lesson for all those concerned about international development. This volume should be read by anyone interested in how international trade takes place on the ground as opposed to abstract theorizing about it.” Lawrence Busch, Director, Institute for Food and Agricultural Standards, Michigan State University
“Daviron and Ponte bring fresh insights to the persistent difficulties of trade as a lever of development for poor nations. They precisely characterize the important intangible attributes of value and market power that are often overlooked and offer some stimulating perspectives for anyone interested in development and in coffee.” Daniele Giovannucci, author of Coffee Markets: New Paradigms in Global Supply and Demand
“A fascinating account of how our favourite morning cup of coffee travels from poor producer regions in the Global South to relatively affluent consumer regions in the North. The authors illuminate the challenges and opportunities inherent in tropical export production, global trade, and shifting consumption trends. Their book is theoretically sophisticated, empirically grounded, and goes the extra mile to identify promising pathways for fuelling development.” Laura T. Raynolds, Co-Director, Center for Fair and Alternative Trade Studies, Colorado State University
“Using value chain analysis to go beyond the normal hand-wringing about the coffee crisis , the authors blend theory and practice (including new data) to provide new insights, ideas and perspective.” Peter Baker, senior coffee scientist, CABI Commodities
“An important contribution to the literarature on primary products and economic development.” Diego Pizano, National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia
Kontaktperson:
Stefano Ponte, Ph.D., Senior Researcher, Danish Institute for International Studies, Strandgade 56, 1401 Copenhagen K, web: http://www.diis.dk/sw152.asp
CV: http://www.diis.dk/sw6051.asp
