P.M. BRIEFING : End of Coffee Cartel Hurts Africa
African coffee-producing countries have lost more than $1.6 billion since the collapse 15 months ago of the International Coffee Agreement--the industry’s price cartel, a top Kenyan official said today.
Opening a five-day meeting of the Inter-African Coffee Organization in Nairobi, Kenyan Vice President George Saitoti said African economies had been affected greatly by the losses because of their heavy reliance on agriculture as a source of foreign exchange.
Africa was worst hit, he said, but no coffee-producing country in the world benefited from the onset of a free market.
“The lifting of quotas has led to increased export volumes which has caused considerable buildup of stocks in consumer countries, leading to the 40% drop in coffee prices,” Saitoti told the meeting.
He called on African producers to address themselves collectively to their joint problem.
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