World: Major FAO report reveals hidden costs of coffee production

As coffee prices currently sit at historically high levels on the commodities markets, driven by supply concerns and growing demand, the economic benefits for green coffee producers might seem universally promising. Yet a new policy report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations reveals a deeper, often overlooked reality in coffee pricing structures: the hidden costs of coffee production. Behind the market price of coffee lie significant environmental and social impacts — from greenhouse gas emissions to widespread child labor and income inequality — casting doubt on whether these record prices reflect the “true cost” of coffee, according to the report. Focused on coffee value systems in East Africa, the report follows a “growing recognition that significant costs associated with food systems remain unaccounted for in market prices,” according to the FAO. The report defines many of these costs as “externalities,” or the indirect consequences of ...