Despite the significant financial windfall generated by the global coffee value chain, many challenges remain. Between the impoverishment of producers and environmental constraints, the industry is still struggling to be sustainable.

Large coffee trading and roasting companies are still not contributing significantly to improving farmers' incomes and reducing the environmental impact of the coffee sector globally. This is the observation made by the new “Coffee Barometer 2020” published on January 13 by a group of non-governmental organizations.

If with the rise of pressure from consumers for more ethical products, companies have announced sustainability initiatives in recent decades, the results obtained remain mixed according to the authors of the report.

While the coffee retail trade generates between $200 and $250 billion a year, producing countries receive less than 10% of this windfall. In addition, farmers have been facing for three years a prolonged fall in coffee prices below production costs, which threatens their livelihoods.

This situation is further aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic which continues to limit the consumption of coffee outside the home and to drive down arabica prices. Beyond this assessment, the authors point the finger at many companies whose promises of commitments are still awaited.

“Big companies need to prove that their value chains are free from human rights abuses and deforestation. They must also show that they are investing in improving producers' incomes and adapting to climate change,” says Stefaan Calmeyn, Program Director for Coffee at Oxfam Belgium.

As a reminder, coffee is produced by 12.5 million farms in the world.