Starbucks outlets worldwide played unwitting host to protestors on Saturday, who demanded the coffeehouse giant pay farmers in the developing world fair prices for their coffee beans.

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Farmers in developing countries who sell their product to middlemen, to be sold on to multinational giants such as Starbucks, generally receive about US$0.4 per pound. Fair Trade coffee meanwhile is bought directly from the farmer, guaranteeing minimum prices of US$1.29 per pound and the promise of cooperative support for future sales. 


Starbucks currently sells Fair Trade coffee in bulk, but it is not brewed on a regular basis, something the protestors wish to change via a week-long global campaign organised by the Organic Consumers Association against the firm, which will culminate with a rally outside the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Seattle tomorrow [Tuesday].


Simon Harris of the Organic Consumers Association, told the Canadian Press that Starbucks is starting to respond to demonstrations and consumer pressure: “We’ve seen significant movement. Starbucks bought one million pounds of Fair Trade coffee this year, and that’s an important first step.


“We have been calling on them to brew and offer it once week as their coffee of the day. But they’ve only bought enough to do that once a month.”

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Suresh Tumkur, a volunteer with Oxfam Canada, told the Canadian Press from his protest point outside a Toronto Starbucks: “Starbucks paints themselves as being a socially responsible company. We are calling on them to back that up.”