The Coffee Paradox: Global Markets, Commodity Trade and the Elusive Promise of Development [Paperback]

Benoit Daviron (Author), Stefano Ponte (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1842774573 | ISBN-13: 978-1842774571 | Publication Date: February 2, 2006

This book recasts the "development problem" for countries relying on commodity exports in entirely new ways by analyzing the so-called coffee paradox--the coexistence of a "coffee boom" in consuming countries and of a "coffee crisis" in producing countries. In consuming countries, coffee continues to grow in popularity. At the same time, international coffee prices have fallen dramatically and producers receive the lowest prices in decades. As long as coffee farmers and their organizations do not control at least parts of this production, they will remain on the losing end.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'An important contribution to the literarature on primary products and economic development.' - Diego Pizano, International and Economic Advisor, National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia 'Daviron and Ponte have done a masterful job both of showing the limits to 'free' trade in agricultural products as well as providing some concrete proposals as to what must be done to promote greater equity. The story of the global coffee trade is an essential lesson for all those concerned about international development. This volume should be read by anyone who is interested in how international trade takes place on the ground as opposed to abstract theorizing about it.' - Lawrence Busch, Director, Institute for Food and Agricultural Standards, Michigan State University 'This book uses value chain analysis to go beyond the normal hand-wringing about the coffee crisis. The authors blend theory and practice (including new data) to provide all those interested in coffee with new insights, ideas and perspective.' - Peter Baker, senior coffee scientist, CABI Commodities 'Ponte and Daviron bring fresh insights to the persistent difficulties of trade as a lever of development for poor nations. Their well-crafted and historically grounded arguments precisely characterize the important intangible attributes of value and market power that are often overlooked and offer some stimulating perspectives for anyone interested in development and in coffee.' - Daniele Giovannucci, consultant and author of The State of Sustainable Coffee, and Coffee Markets: New Paradigms in Global Supply and Demand

About the Author

Benoit Daviron is a French agronomist and agricultural economist at CIRAD. He is currently a Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.
Stefano Ponte is Senior Researcher at the Institute for International Studies, Copenhagen.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Zed Books (February 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1842774573
• ISBN-13: 978-1842774571
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,184,487 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The answer to the coffee question, July 21, 2007

By 

A. Ofstehage (Brookings, SD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Coffee Paradox: Global Markets, Commodity Trade and the Elusive Promise of Development (Paperback)

Fair trade and organic coffee is seen by many as the solution to poverty among coffee farmers of the South, although these are excellent solutions for a group of coffee producers they leave out the vast majority of producers. Ponte and Daviron outline what other possible solutions are available to solve the problem. These solutions could ideally reach the majority of coffee producers. I would recomend this book to anyone interested in coffee and the quality of life of producers of the global South.