Oxfam and West Midlands MEP call coffee time

12.00.00am GMT Thu 13th Nov 2003

Local MEP, Liz Lynne, has praised recent efforts across the West Midlands to support Fairtrade and has called for action from the giant companies that dominate the coffee market to match it. Prices paid to coffee farmers are languishing at their lowest for 30 years, but West Midlands people are doing their bit for a fairer world.

The Co-op, with more than 30 branches in the West Midlands Region, has just announced that it is switching all its own brand coffee to be fairly traded. This will boost the value of the UK Fairtrade coffee market by 15 per cent or £4 million, returning a total of £¾ million to growers. Also thousands of regional campaigners have demanded that coffee giants, Nestle and Kraft, do their bit to make a difference.

Eliot Whittington from Oxfam said: "Coffee farmers are being paid a pittance, less than their costs of production, while coffee companies reap giant profits. Fairtrade is a fantastic solution and is already putting hope back into the lives of half a million families worldwide.

"Yet while the popularity of Fairtrade grows, coffee companies are leaving the lives of the 25 million other coffee farmers in the hands of market forces. It's time that companies took responsibility for their part, and companies cared for the people who provide the profits, not just shareholders."

West Midlands MEP, Liz Lynne added: "Fairtrade has made it possible for everyone to have an impact on a global scale with their weekly shopping trip, and with 587 million cups of coffee drunk in the West Midlands Region each year, the power of our local caffeine lovers could be significant.

"But Fairtrade is not the whole answer. Companies and governments must recognise and accept their responsibility to change the rules and their practices and make the coffee market work for those people it's currently leaving behind."

Since the launch of Oxfam's coffee campaign, hundreds of local people have told international coffee companies, Kraft and Nestle, to put people before profits. Already Proctor & Gamble, a US based coffee company, has committed to a new Fairtrade coffee brand.

To find out more and put pressure on UK coffee companies, visit www.maketradefair.com.