Dear Coffee, I.L.Y.

ALT Presentation slide comparing the price of green coffee per pound in US dollars, cost of a work vehicle in US dollars, and the number of bags of coffee required to afford the work vehicle. The years compared are 1976 and 2020. In 1976, green coffee had a sell price of $1 per pound, a work vehicle cost $5,500, and 55 bags of coffee would be needed to afford the work vehicle. In 2020, green coffee is priced at 97 cents per pound, a work vehicle costs $42,000, and 420 bags would be required to afford the vehicle. This means coffee farms must produce and sell nearly 8 times the amount of coffee to afford a necessary farm expense like a vehicle.

ALT A graphic from a report on the income of coffee producers, showing the average income for farm workers derived from coffee compared to the estimated living income levels for their countries. The chart displays estimated average yearly household income levels in US dollars for coffee workers in Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia, Honduras, Ethiopia, India, Uganda, Peru, and Guatemala. Of those countries, only farm workers in Brazil make enough from coffee to have a living income. The rest of the countries show an average income of less than $2,000 US per year, and none meet the threshold for living income in their country.

ALT A chart showing the coffee futures market, or C market, price of green commodity coffee from 1973 to 2016. It is adjusted for inflation, which demonstrates that the dollar value paid for coffee over the past 40 years has fallen overall.

ALT A screenshot of the auction results for the Best of Panama coffee competition. Best of Panama has garnered a reputation for selling the most high-priced coffees in the world, breaking records nearly every year. The 2021 results for the auction show that the top winning lot, a natural-processed gesha variety from Finca Nuguo, sold for $2,568 US per pound. This is over 1,000 times what a farmer would typically earn for specialty coffee.