Coffee News Roundup: Week Ending March 29th
Nestlé?? Exploiting coffee farmers?!
It’s Monday, so let’s round up the Roundup!
An investigation by a Swiss NGO unveils how Nestlé treats its Mexican coffee suppliers. Needless to say, the multinational doesn’t come out of it looking good: “Nestlé states that its pricing is based on trends on the international markets. The farmers say that, in the past, a low price was often justified by the low market rate. Now that this is high, however, it apparently plays no role.”
The impending EU deforestation legislation will “reorder the world of coffee” according to the AP. Some countries, like Vietnam and Brazil, stand to profit from the laws; others, such as Ethiopia and Peru, are struggling to gather the required data from their thousands or millions of smallholder farmers.
Producers in Colombia’s Sierra Nevada mountain range are facing unpredictable rainfall cycles and warming temperatures, to the degree that production has fallen 35% over the past five years. This story has some very good quotes, including one from farmer Jaime Garcia Florez: “Behind every cup of coffee is a family that depends on it, who has dreams and wants to move forward.”
Plus, coffee is good for multiple things this week. Read the full roundup over at Fresh Cup Magazine:
If you missed it, my latest piece is the second in an ongoing series looking at venture capital and private equity investment in the specialty coffee industry:
I’m also quoted in this Fresh Cup article about what 2024 will hold for coffee (my contribution is very silly compared to some of the actual experts): Experts Share Emerging Coffee Industry Trends Of 2024
Until next week, it’s goodbye from Merlin:
