§ Ms DrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to support the working of the international market in coffee. [83627]
§ Mr. MorleyThe UK is a member, through the EU, of the International Coffee Organisation (ICO), a United Nations body established to, among other things, "achieve a reasonable balance between world supply and demand on a basis which will assure adequate supplies of coffee at fair prices to consumers and markets for coffee at remunerative prices to producers … to facilitate the expansion and transparency of international trade in coffee".
A major plank of the organisation's current activity is a Coffee Quality Improvement Programme. Introduced on 1 October 2002, it requires exports of unprocessed coffee from member countries to comply with minimum quality standards. This should have a positive effect upon supply and demand and, in turn, producer prices. Discussions are also under way within the organisation about how exports of processed coffee should be dealt with.
The Government are also helping coffee growers to diversify, through our development programme, and promoting foreign investment and good regulatory frameworks in coffee-growing countries.
In a wider context, on the WTO front, we are committed to further liberalisation of markets, including significant improvements in market access and special and differential treatment for developing countries. This should also benefit coffee growers.
We are seeking to expand the trade opportunities of commodity-dependent countries through, for example, cutting import tariffs to reduce the negative impact of the Common Agricultural Policy.