Some indicators that Starbucks is doing the right thing …

Coffee sold on the New York “C” market earns almost half of that of Fair Trade Coffee which brings in $1.26 per pound. Most of the coffee sold in Guatemalan goes at the C market price; however, recent online auctions supported by USAID were successful at selling at an average of $1.27 per pound and a record price of $1.55 per pound. Does Starbucks have anything to do with an increase in demand price for Guatemalan coffee? Hard to say, but it seems clear that Starbucks has mainstreamed gourmet coffee…

To date Starbucks has donated US$1.5 million to development projects throughout Guatemala, including the construction of schools and health centers (prensalibre)…

Guatemala’s President Oscar Berger presented Starbucks with The 2005 Gold Medal Award for International Corporate Achievement in Sustainable Development from the World Environment Center (WEC)….

On the downside Guatemalans that live in the aldeas and caserios where the coffee is produced can not afford to buy their products. In fact the only place to find a cup of coffee not made from a freeze dried powder is in the restaurants and hotels of Antigua frequented only by upper class Guatemalans and tourists.

By establishing “Guatemala Antigua Coffee” as a luxury item Starbucks has created a market for local producers in many communities (whether these producers are paying their workers a fair wage is questionable). But either way I still suffer daily every time I spoon out my morning coffee.

-San Agustín Acasaguastlán, El Progreso, Guatemala

Further Reading… ¬_* http://www.coffeeresearch.org/market/..._ http://www.prensalibre.com/pl/2005/ma… http://www.socialfunds.com/news/relea… http://www.usaid.gov/locations/latin...*_