geopolitica del caffe mercato internazionale

Geopolitics and the coffee market: from production in the global South to consumption in rich countries

Starting from the time of domestication of coffeeseveral centuries ago, the consumption of the drink and products containing it spread throughout the world. There is, however, one interesting thing paradox in the industry that dominates the production and marketing of this product (which also occurs in the case of other types of goods). While in fact the coffee consumption it is especially interesting to me More economically developed countriesthe production instead it occurs in poorer areas of the world and where respect for workers’ rights it is often absent or very limited: we are talking about various Latin American, African and Asian states located in the range between Tropic of Cancer and that of Capricorn

Origin and diffusion of coffee

There are two main species of the coffee plant: “Coffea arabica” (the most valuable, which represents approximately 60/70% of world production) and “Coffea canephora” (the least valuable, also known as “Robusta coffee”) which probably originated in the territories of Horn of Africa (Coffea arabica) and theSub-Saharan Central and West Africa (Coffea canephora). However, there is still no unanimity of opinion on the actual place where the “domestication” of the plant took place, with different sources reporting the current states of Yemen or Ethiopia.

For centuries, the kingdoms and empires that followed one another in the area between the Horn of Africa and the southern portion of the Arabian Peninsula partly owed their rise and wealth to the trade of the precious fruit from which the coffee drink is obtained . It was thanks to this monopoly that, at the dawn of the era of colonialismthe Ethiopian Empire and the Mutawakkilite Imamate of Yemen were among the small group of 5 empires (the others were the Chinese Ming Empire, the Mughal Sultanate of India and the Ottoman Empire) which at the time were worth alone among 70% and 80% of global GDP.

Since then many things have changed and, while on the one hand coffee consumption has spread throughout the world, production is concentrated in a series of Latin American, African and Asian countries mainly concentrated in the range between Tropic of Cancer and that of Capricorncharacterized by ideal climatic conditions for cultivation.

Coffee: the numbers of a multi-billion dollar industry

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Main countries where coffee is grown.

THE top 10 coffee importers in 2023 (for a total of almost 27 billion dollars) were: USA, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, United Kingdom and Switzerland. In the same period of time, according to data published by USDA Foreign Agricultural Servicethe top 10 producers (Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Uganda, India, Honduras, Peru and Mexico) placed on the market in 2023/2024 a quantity of beans equivalent to almost 150 million bags weighing 60 kg each.

Consulting the data referring to the time span between 1970 and 2000, it appears that coffee was the second most valuable commercial product exported from developing countries and the data relating to its consumption (around 2.25 billion cups consumed per day throughout the world) give the image of a thriving and continually expanding market. As a historical note, it is important to remember the role that the port of Trieste which place of arrival and marketing of coffee; a fact that favored the birth and development of important companies in the sector locally.

The main issues behind coffee production: sustainability and rights

As mentioned above, the largest percentage of global coffee bean production (over 90%) is concentrated in Developing countries. It is estimated that between 20 and 25 million familiescomprising approx 125 million individuals (like the entire population of Japan), owe their livelihood to the economic activities linked to the cultivation and harvesting of coffee. This means that this economic activity is still characterized by a high incidence of the labor factor and by little automation.

Since the final product that we consume at the bar or at our table is the result of an infinite series of intermediate steps, many voices of complaint have been raised over time to draw attention to the living and working conditions of the masses of small farmersoften forced to sell off their precious merchandise at multinationals at negligible prices.

Another problem worth mentioning is the environmental sustainability of the coffee industry, often grown together with cocoa, corn, peas and rice to promote diversification in a process which however has the effect of destroy vast expanses of territory. This is a phenomenon that is now difficult to ignore, especially in Brazil.