Guatemala will be the host of the 3th World Conference of Coffee of the ICO, The International Coffee Organization Guatemala.
The ICO, The International Coffee Organization, is the main intergovernmental organization for coffee, bringing together producing and consuming countries to tackle the challenges facing the world coffee sector through international cooperation. It makes a practical contribution to the world coffee economy and to improving standards of living in developing countries.
On May 22, 2008, The ICO decided to hold their 3rd World Coffee Conference in Guatemala in the year 2010. The 2nd World conference was held in Brazil in 2005 and the 1st World Coffee Conference was held in London in 2001.
The International Coffee Organization (ICO) is the main intergovernmental organization for coffee, bringing together producing and consuming countries to tackle the challenges facing the world coffee sector through international cooperation. It makes a practical contribution to the world coffee economy and to improving standards of living in developing countries by:
- enabling government representatives to exchange views and coordinate coffee policies and priorities at regular high-level meetings
- improving coffee quality through the Coffee Quality-Improvement Program and specific projects
- increasing world coffee consumption through innovative market development activities
- initiating coffee development projects to improve quality and marketing
- encouraging a sustainable world coffee economy
- working closely with the private sector through a 16 strong Private Sector Consultative Board which tackles issues such as food safety
- providing objective and comprehensive information on the world coffee market; and
- ensuring transparency in the coffee market through statistics.
The ICO was set up in London in 1963 under the auspices of the United Nations because of the great economic importance of coffee. It has administered six International Coffee Agreements (ICAs), the most recent of which entered into force provisionally on 1 October 2001 and definitively on 17 May 2005. Its 77 Members include 45 coffee exporting and 32 importing countries, and it functions through the International Coffee Council, the Executive Board, the Private Sector Consultative Board, the Executive Director and a small Secretariat.
Coffee is one of the world's largest traded commodities produced in more than 60 countries, providing a livelihood for some 25,000,000 coffee farming families around the world. Many of these countries are heavily dependent on coffee, which can account for over 75% of their total export earnings. Among consumers coffee is a universally popular drink, with over US$70 billion in retail sales a year. ICO exporting Members account for over 97% of world coffee production and its importing Members are responsible for around 80% of world coffee consumption.
The International Coffee Agreement 2007, the seventh Agreement since 1962, was agreed by the 77 Members of the International Coffee Council, meeting in London on 28 September 2007. It was formally adopted by the Council through Resolution 431. The Agreement will strengthen the ICO's role as a forum for intergovernmental consultations, facilitate international trade through increased transparency and access to relevant information, and promote a sustainable coffee economy for the benefit of all stakeholders and particularly of small-scale farmers in coffee producing countries.
International Coffee Agreement 2007
The new Agreement is an important instrument for development cooperation and will provide the legal framework for core activities undertaken by the Organization in the future. Around 15 of the ICO's 45 exporting Members are least-developed countries (with low incomes and high economic vulnerability), and the 25 million small coffee farmers and their families who produce 90% of the world's coffee are particularly affected by fluctuations in market prices and imbalances in supply and demand. The Preamble specifically acknowledges the contribution of a sustainable coffee sector to the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, particularly with respect to poverty eradication.
Important innovations include a new Chapter on the development and funding of coffee development projects, and the establishment of a Consultative Forum on Coffee Sector Finance, responding to the need for increased access to information on topics related to finance and risk management in the coffee sector, with particular emphasis on the needs of small and medium-scale producers. The range of statistical data will be expanded, enhancing market transparency, and a new Promotion and Market Development Committee will oversee activities including information campaigns, research, capacity-building and studies related to coffee production and consumption.
MEMBERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COFFEE AGREEMENT 2001
(as at 5 July 2007)
77 MEMBERS
Exporting Members 45
Angola, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Costa Rica, Cóte d´Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mexico, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Rwanda, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Importing Members 32
(some states have Notification of provisional application)
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United Stated of America, European Community.
Ecology
Coffee is a tropical plant which grows between the latitudes of 25° N. and 25° S. but requires very specific environmental conditions for commercial cultivation. Temperature, rainfall, sunlight, wind and soils are all important, but requirements vary according to the varieties grown.
Ideal average temperatures range between 15 - 24° C. for arabica coffee and 24 - 30° C. for robusta, which can take hotter, drier conditions but does not tolerate temperatures much below 15°, as arabica can for short periods. All coffee is easily damaged by frost, a danger either in southern Brazil or, closer to the Equator, at altitudes around 2000 metres.
In general, coffee needs an annual rainfall of 1500 to 3000 mm., arabica needing less than other species. The pattern of rainy and dry periods is important for growth, budding and flowering. Rainfall requirements depend on the retention properties of the soil, atmospheric humidity and cloud cover, as well as cultivation practices.
Whereas robusta coffee can be grown between sea-level and about 800 metres, arabica does best at higher altitudes and is often grown in hilly areas. As altitude relates to temperature, arabica can be grown at lower levels further from the Equator, until limited by frost. All coffee needs good drainage, but it can grow on soils of different depths, pH and mineral content, given suitable applications of fertilizer.
Wind-breaks are sometimes planted to protect coffee plantations; shade trees, which may be economic crops such as bananas, are a common feature and mimic the natural habitat of coffee.
Standard references
Clifford, M.N. and Willson, K.C. (Editors) - Coffee; botany, biochemistry and production of beans and beverage. London, Croom Helm, 1985.
Wrigley, G. - Coffee. London, Longman, 1988.
For more information: International Coffee Organization. 22 Berners Street, London, W1T 3DD, England. Tel: +44 (0)20 7612 0600 Fax: +44 (0)20 7612 0630 E-Mail:
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Fotos by Shaun McRae, coffee plantation. Marcelo Corrêa Coffee flowers
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