Ending Dispute, Starbucks Is to Help Ethiopian Farmers

By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: November 29, 2007

After a dispute over coffee trademarks that turned into a public relations problem for Starbucks, the company said yesterday that it would open a center in Ethiopia to help coffee farmers improve the profitability of their crops.

The Starbucks chairman, Howard D. Schultz, made the announcement after meeting with the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi.

“We feel very strongly that the long-term success of our company is directly linked to the long-term success of not only the Ethiopian coffee farmer, but all the coffee farmers around the world,” he said in a telephone interview from Ethiopia. Ethiopia had sought trademark status for its premium coffees — Harrar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe beans — as part of an effort to get more of the retail dollar for its farmers.

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Groundbreaking Trade Agreement for Ethiopian Coffee Farmers Launches in the UK

(CSRwire) August 27, 2007 - A unique trading agreement that will benefit some of the world's poorest farmers launches in the UK on 5 September 2007.

Newly established trademarks on speciality Ethiopian coffees, which have previously sparked controversy in the USA, mean that from September only officially licensed distributors will be able to sell certain coffees in the UK.

Fairtrade food pioneers Equal Exchange will be the first company to become licensed distributors when their Fairtrade and Organic Yirgacheffe Ground Coffee is included under the Ethiopian Coffee and Trademarking Initiative. The company will sign the licensing agreement at a ceremony at the Ethiopian Embassy on 5 September 2007.

The Trademarking Initiative, that was originally contested by Starbucks and has been a focus of an international campaign by Oxfam, is a collaboration between Ethiopia's government, coffee exporters and farmers' organisations. It aims to develop the country's coffee industry and keep more of the value of its internationally-renown coffees with farmers and their communities.

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