Poverty and coffee farmers

About 25 million people and their families depend on growing coffee. The price of coffee is therefore hugely important for these people - when it is high they can make a decent living but a low price can leave many of them undernourished and desperate.

After hitting a 30-year low, the price of coffee has begun to recover. But the extra money earned from coffee in no way signals an end to the coffee crisis. Despite higher prices, 25 million coffee-producing families still cannot rely on a decent income. Oxfam campaigns for farmers to receive a decent price for their coffee , regardless of the booms and busts in the international marketplace.

Between 1999 and 2000, the price of coffee fell by 50% to a thirty year low. Taking inflation into account the 'real' price of coffee is now at just 25% of its level in 1960. This is probably its lowest real price in 100 years.

Low coffee prices also have long-term and widespread effects on whole communities and countries where coffee is a major export:

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