Grounds for Agreement: The Political Economy of the Coffee Commodity Chain

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Summary: Coffee commodity chain: problems and concrete policy options
Review: In this rigorous analysis of the global trade in coffee, Talbot identifies structural forces limiting the effectiveness and scope of social justice movements on the market such as organic and fair trade certification programs. While the first few chapters will bore the non-economist, the last two detail specific and realistic trade policy objectives that would more effectively safeguard the livelihoods of small growers and the environment - these chapters will appeal to anyone with an activist streak who has ever seriously considered whether or not purchasing fair trade, shade grown or organic coffee is worthwhile. The preceding commodity chain analysis is dry but lucid, explaining the organization and history of coffee markets and detailing how the consumer price of coffee is divided among profits for transnational corporations, export and processing costs and the growers' costs of production. The most important contribution this book makes is to show in hard numbers that historically, international trade regulations (production quotas, in particular) have had a significant positive impact on the livelihoods of small producers worldwide. Talbot recommends reversing the WTO/IMF roll-back of such regulations and points out that the international community is ready to accept a strong regulatory framework on the coffee trade, if only U.S. citizens will lobby their government to stop favoring the special interests of major coffee corporations that continue to oppose any trade agreements limiting the production of coffee.