A Theoretical and Empirical Study on the Coffee Food System: Prospects of New Links between Producing Countries and Consuming Countries toward Poverty Alleviation for Coffee Producers

由于全球咖啡市场供过于求，在纽约咖啡交易所确定的阿拉比卡咖啡豆期货价格处于“历史最低水平”。这首先是由于最大的咖啡生产国巴西的生产-分配系统现代化程度的提高和效率的提高，其次是由于新的咖啡生产国越南的低质量咖啡豆产量的急剧增加。除此之外，投机者对咖啡豆市场兴趣的丧失也导致了价格的下降。纽约期货价格一直被用作世界阿拉比卡咖啡交易的基准价格。因此，在包括坦桑尼亚在内的咖啡生产小国，最低的价格以及低效的生产分配系统，以及卖家/生产商（包括小农和合作社）和买家/出口商（如跨国公司）之间议价能力和信息含量的明显差距，导致包括坦桑尼亚在内的咖啡生产小国的生产者价格处于“创纪录的低水平”。因此，全世界有2500万咖啡生产者陷入贫困。相反，咖啡消费国日本的咖啡产业却受益于廉价生咖啡豆的供应。然而，有几个因素提升了日本的竞争力：持续的经济衰退；外国咖啡连锁店的兴起（这表明人们对咖啡店的需求发生了变化）；去除中间阶段的业务，如进口公司*青豆批发商*咖啡加工公司*业务需求/零售商。因此，市场出现了“求低价”和“求优质”的两极分化。如果是后者，由于生产者价格暴跌，很难获得高质量的咖啡豆，因此贸易商将面临生死攸关的问题。如何建立“生产国与消费国之间的理想联系”，以解决上述问题？首先，它们出现在国际咖啡协定中，该协定是“南北问题运动”的结果。然而，自1989年美国退出该协议以来，这种做法就没有奏效。管理上述协定的国际咖啡组织已就设立一个基金以支助生产者的计划进行了大量讨论。这笔资金尚未实现。目前唯一实践的“理想环节”可以在公平贸易（一种保证设定最低出口价格并将利润返还给生产区的贸易运动）中找到。但是，公平贸易在日本的比重还不到1%。少

The futures price of Arabica coffee bean, which is determined in the New York Coffee Exchange, is at "the record low level" as a result of oversupply in the global coffee market. This is due firstly to increased modernization and promotion of efficiency in a production-distribution system in the largest coffee producing country Brazil, and secondly due to a sharp increase in production of low quality beans in the new coffee producer Vietnam. In addition co this, the resulting loss of speculators' interest in coffee bean market has contributed to the price reduction.New York futures price has been used as a benchmark price in the world Arabica coffee trade. Therefore in small coffee producing countries including Tanzania, the lowest price as well as inefficient production-distribution system and blatant gap in bargaining power and information content between sellers/producers (including small-scale farmers and cooperatives) and buyers/exporters (such as multinational companies) has led … More to the producer price at "the record low level" in small coffee producing countries including Tanzania. As a result, 25 million coffee producers around the world have been suffering from poverty.On the contrary, the coffee industry in the consuming country Japan has enjoyed the benefit from the availability of cheap green coffee beans. However, several factors have boosted the competitiveness in Japan: a protracted recession; the boom in foreign coffee shop chains (this indicates the change of the needs towards coffee shops); the removal of intermediate stages of business such as Import Firm * Wholesaler of Green Beans * Coffee Processing Company * Business Demand/Retailers. Consequently, the market was polarized between those "seeking low price" and "seeking high quality" . In case of the latter, traders are forced to face a matter of life and death where securing high quality beans is extremely difficult due to the slump in producer prices.How should "ideal links between producing countries and consuming countries" be established, in order to solve the above mentioned issues? Firstly, they are featured in the International Coffee Agreement, which was achieved as a result of the "North-South problems movement" . This, however, has not worked since 1989 due to America' s withdrawal from the Agreement. There have been plans for establishing a fund for supporting producers, which have been much discussed by the International Coffee Organization that manages the above Agreement. This fund is yet to be realized. The only currently practiced "ideal links" can be found in Fairtrade (a trade movement which guarantees to set minimum export prices and return profits to production area). It s not, however, be widespread (Fairtrade only accounts for less than one percent in Japan). Less