Kaffa, Ethiopia
How is it produced?
Coffee is produced in warm, tropical areas known as the “coffee belt,” which includes parts of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Farmers grow coffee on small farms or large plantations, where the coffee cherries are picked, often hand-picked, when ripe. These cherries are then processed to remove the beans inside, usually through drying or washing methods. After that, the beans are dried, sorted, and shipped abroad to be roasted and sold. Most of the hard work happens in the Global South, but the biggest profits are made by companies in the Global North who brand and sell the final product.
Describe the supply chain to the store shelf in Canada:
Coffee supply chain includes cultivation, harvest and process, export, import, roasting, and then packing and distribution in grocery stores and cafes. Most of the labor intensive work (cultivation, harvest, processing, export) happens in the Global South.
What is the power balance between the producer and seller?
Most of the coffee is being produced in the Global South. While farmers earn less than 10 percent of the retail price, most of the global trade rules are often in place to protect corporations rather than farmers.
Can you recommend changes to the system to improve the balance?
To implement real change in the industry systematic change is needed. That can happen through producer co-operatives, fair pricing mechanisms (living wage for farmers and the vulnerable ones in the industry), and reform global trade policies. This obviously is not going to happen without political activism, education, and grass-root movements as powerful corporations are not going to let go of their money and power.
References/Resources:
Raynolds, L. T., Murray, D., & Leigh Taylor, P. (2004). Fair trade coffee: building producer capacity via global networks. Journal of International Development: The Journal of the Development Studies Association, 16(8), 1109-1121.
Ruben, R. (2023). Why do coffee farmers stay poor?. Journal of Fair Trade, 4(2), 11-30.
Samper, L. F., & Quiñones-Ruiz, X. F. (2017). Towards a balanced sustainability vision for the coffee industry. Resources, 6(2), 17.
Wienhold, K., & Roberts, P. W. (2025). Is the rising tide of specialty coffee lifting all boats?. World Development, 195, 107103.