For the past year, coffee prices have been rising upward on the international commodities markets.

The current market price for Arabica beans, which make up around 70 percent of the coffee market, is about $2.60 US per pound. This time last year, it was around $1.49 US. The market price of cheaper Robusta beans has more than doubled in the past 12 months.

The main reasons behind rising prices are due to uncertainty in coffee industry and impact of climate change. Coffee producing countries are working to understand how to comply with a new regulatory landscape that has put increasing responsibilities on farmers to prevent and combat adverse social and environmental impacts. Together with, the historic draught in Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producing country, and a slew of production challenges due to climate events and new pests and disease in countries around the coffee belt, pose a great threat to supply.

All of this makes traders nervous and keeps pushing prices higher. Fairtrade knows there is no quick-fix to stabilize prices and establish sustainable coffee supply chains, instead we need to work towards the following to implement long-term change.

Farmers at the centre
Fairtrade needs the coffee industry to be more collaborative and supportive of farmers. The farmers must be included early-on in assessments and in problem solving. They cannot be the recipients of declarations and decisions made in isolation by the industry without their reality being considered.

De-risk livelihoods
The Fairtrade Minimum Price (FMP), which represents a formal safety net that protects producers from being forced to sell their products at too low a price when the market price is below the FMP, is most distinguishing element between Fairtrade’s approach and those of many other “sustainable” or “cause-coffee” initiatives. By including power-share on coffee contract pricing and mechanisms to limit the market and investment risks that farmers take on, Fairtrade can get farmers closer to earning a living income and a dignified livelihood.

Nurture and support innovation
Fairtrade knows that small-scale coffee farmer organisations are not only viable structures for coffee exports, but also effective vehicles for innovation and community development. Fairtrade farmers have created solutions to production and environmental challenges from soil regeneration and programmed pruning practices to the best use of natural residues and water purification and recycling.

Fully engaged consumer community
Fairtrade knows that consumers can lead on the pathway to change by buying more Fairtrade coffee and sending that message to industry. Consumers need to understand their power, and how they can leverage that muscle to make a difference.