Coffee Economics

I finished my paper on coffee (for the summer class I took at UCLA) - it ended up being about the economic sustainability of the industry. It was VERY interesting to do the research and write the paper. I talked to so many interesting, smart people, who have great perspective on broad issues, as well as getting to volunteer and become involved with some great organizations. (Maybe I should go to grad school?) I ended up focusing on the economic sustainabilty over the environmental impacts because it was just so obviously wrong. Here is my first paragraph:

Worldwide, coffee is the second largest export commodity after oil, valued at 60 billion dollars annually (PBS). Guatemala is among the top 10 players in this rich business. Not only important in the world market, coffee alternates with sugar as the top export in Guatemala; a key source of the country’s income. In 2005 the agricultural trifecta of coffee, sugar and fruit accounted for 1 billion dollars, or one third of Guatemala’s overall exports (ITC). This number is only a shadow of the total value of the market, realized once these raw materials are converted into end-products and sold to consumers.

Over half of Guatemalans work in the agriculture industry, many nurturing these cash crops. In the face of this wealth, how is it that Guatemala is one of the 10 poorest countries in Latin America, with over three quarters of its residents living below the poverty line (World Bank)? This paper will explore the economic sustainability of the coffee industry in Guatemala, examining the political and social roadblocks and the efforts to forge new paths.

You can read the rest here

And here is the photoessay

From Guatemala

From Guatemala