Economics of coffee

Tens of millions of small producers in developing countries make their living growing coffee.

Over 90 percent of coffee production takes place in developing countries — mainly South America — while consumption happens primarily in industrialized economies.

In Brazil, where almost a third of the world's coffee is produced, over five million people are employed in the cultivation and harvesting of over three billion coffee plants; it is a more labor-intensive culture than alternative cultures of the same regions, such as sugar cane or cattle, as its cultivation is not automated, requiring frequent human attention.

[7] In 2009, Brazil was the world leader in production of green coffee, followed by Vietnam, Indonesia, Colombia and Ethiopia.

[8] Arabica coffee beans are cultivated in Latin America, eastern Africa, Arabia, or Asia.

Robusta coffee beans are grown in western and central Africa, throughout southeast Asia, and to some extent in Brazil.

The expansion of Brazilian coffee plantations and Vietnam's entry into the market in 1994, when the United States trade embargo against it was lifted added supply pressures to growers.

In 2005, however, the coffee prices rose (with the above-mentioned ICO Composite Index monthly averages between 78.79 (September) and 101.44 (March) US Cent per lb).

This rise was likely caused by an increase in consumption in Russia and China as well as a harvest which was about 10 to 20 percent lower than that in the record years before.

The coffee industry currently has a commodity chain that involves producers, middlemen exporters, importers, roasters, and retailers before reaching the consumer.

[16] Importers hold inventory of large container loads, which they sell gradually through numerous small orders.

[17] Coffee Robusta futures are traded on ICE London (Liffe) under ticker symbol RC with contract deliveries occurring every year in January, March, May, July, September and November.

However, in the 1970s and 1980s, during the Green Revolution, the US Agency for International Development and other groups gave eighty million dollars to plantations in Latin America for advancements to go along with the general shift to technified agriculture.

[25] Causes of these effects can include direct impacts of employees missing work due to illness and indirect, as the result of measures taken to reduce the spread of the virus.

For a warehouse, these changes can include reduced staff onsite, increased social distancing meaning fewer employees performing the same task in the same area, etc.

For a transportation division, these changes can include increased time spent at border for COVID-related inspections and checks, reduced drivers as a result of sickness, etc.