ICO Launches ‘Coffee Pledge’ as Part of International Coffee Day

The International Coffee Organization has unveiled a number of new features for this year’s International Coffee Day.

“Coffee has never been more popular, with an estimated 3 billion cups consumed every day, but in spite of growing demand, coffee faces a crisis as the prices that producers receive today are more than 30 percent below the average of the last 10 years, threatening the livelihood of coffee farmers and their families,” the International Coffee Organization (ICO) said.

“For this year’s International Coffee Day (ICD) campaign we are on a mission to help coffee farmers around the world receive a fair, living income. But to do it we need your help.

“To mobilize and capture the voice of consumers we are encouraging coffee drinkers and all actors to sign the #coffeepledge in support of a living income for coffee farmers.

“Our aim is to reach one million signatures by International Coffee Day on 1 October – an ambitious target we can reach with your help. We hope to use this weight of consumer opinion to support the ICO’s efforts to mobilize funds and political backing to address effectively the coffee price crisis.”

The campaign is part of the ICO’s efforts to implement Resolution 465 on coffee price levels and complements its ongoing structured sector-wide dialogue – the latest outcome of which will manifest in the first CEO and Global Leaders Forum of the coffee sector on 23 September 2019.

The forum aims to secure commitments by industry and governments to concrete solutions for coffee price levels, price volatility and the long-term sustainability of the coffee sector.

“Our new-look ICD website provides a fresh image of International Coffee Day and the 2019 campaign, focusing on the economic sustainability of coffee and the impact of low coffee prices on the livelihoods of millions of coffee farmers and their families across the globe,” said the ICO.

“This year’s ICD video shows the sights and sounds of the different stages of production to promote awareness among consumers of the enormous efforts required to make their favourite cup of coffee. The video was produced thanks to the generous support of the Ernesto illy Foundation and the EU representation in Rwanda.”