02/06/2026
Good morning!
Today I would like to share with you a discussion I had with Andreas at Weltladen Fürth, which I found illuminating. I asked him about the increase in the price of the organic and Fair Trade coffee that we buy and he took the time to explain to me the situation in detail. Why is it important? Because it reflects both the human and the financial cost of : the financial and personal ruin of small farmers and the financial burden to consumers through
"Yes, Daphne, in recent years we have seen an incredibly sharp rise in prices, particularly for high-quality Arabica varieties. And Fair Trade must follow this price trend (indeed, for the benefit of the producers), as we cannot pay below the world market price and, morally speaking, we would not want to do so either. Some background: In Fair Trade, there is usually a clearly defined minimum price (= minimum price guarantee, which covers the income of a smallholder family), and if this price is exceeded, we always pay ten per cent above the world market price when setting Fair Trade prices. However, this is also necessary, as our farmers could otherwise sell elsewhere, where in some cases even higher prices are paid for high-quality Arabicas. This is because minimum prices are always averages, and in individual cases, buyers wave dollar bills in some years and pay far more for the coffee... which we naturally wish every producer well for, but this leaves the cooperative empty-handed, even though it has purchase contracts for good reason (because there will be times again with lower prices, when we are then the only loyal customers willing to pay high prices) . It is therefore a difficult and competitive market, particularly in times of high speculative prices. Currently, prices are even approaching German wage levels. Based on wages here, a 500g packet would have to cost the equivalent of €18.00. And we have a number of coffee varieties in our Fair Trade Shop in Fürth (an Indian Robusta-Coffee, for example) – at €16.99, they’re already close to that price. And you’re right in assuming that coffee – even Fair Trade coffee – could still be bought for under ten euros a few years ago. But there is now less and less good green coffee available on the world market. This is precisely due to poor prices in the past (which drove many small farmers to ruin) and due to climate change. As a result, there are increasing numbers of natural disasters. Too much rain or too little, and droughts. There are fungal infections, etc. In a way, what we’re seeing here is also a form of climate inflation. The same thing happened recently with cocoa. So thank you for your question, your concern and your keen interest! The graph below shows the trend in Arabica prices over recent years. Andreas"
