THAILAND: Starbucks may support Fair Trade

Starbucks Thailand is being encouraged by Oxfam to buy its coffee beans from local farmers at a higher price. The campaign is aimed at supporting the Fair Trade campaign, which urges companies to support local farmers by paying them a fair price for their coffee beans. Oxfam has been holding talks with Starbucks for several months, as a result of which Starbucks may start buying coffee from local farmers next year. All four of the major coffee companies, Nestlé, Kraft, Sara Lee and Proctor and Gamble, have been targeted by the Fair Trade campaign, which also wants governments to set up regulations to manage the supply of coffee, reported the Nation.