A year after deciding to stabilize the market for Fair Trade Certified™ coffee, Fair Trade USA (FTUSA) is announcing the continuation of current pricing through the end of 2025. This decision means that the FTUSA minimum price and premiums will remain the same for at least another 18 months.
This decision was made with deep market analysis and ongoing stakeholder consultation. Coffee markets are experiencing extraordinarily high prices and volatility with resulting disruption to consumer demand, inventory levels, and producer sales. We believe that in order to deliver on our mission of eliminating poverty and promoting sustainable development for coffee producers, it is imperative to prioritize market stability in these times of extreme uncertainty.
We came to this decision by listening deeply to both producer and industry partners. These key stakeholders want to protect the current Fair Trade Certified market share developed over the last 25 years (200M pounds in the U.S. market) and the resulting impact to over 600,000 coffee farmers and their families worldwide.
In our consultation, we heard once again that the primary goal of producers today is to increase the volumes that they are able to sell on Fair Trade terms. Our outreach shows that a third of industry and producer representatives believe that maintaining the current price will increase demand. Over 65% believe that keeping the market stable is the best path to long-term viability and scalability. We also heard from both that raising the minimum price or premium would result in a high risk of decreasing demand within the North American market, with over 60% of respondents believing that demand for organic Fair Trade Certified coffee would be the most vulnerable. Our decision to prioritize market stability is directly informed by the collective insights and guidance of our stakeholders.
FTUSA will review its coffee minimum price and premium again in mid-2025 in consultation with stakeholders. We will announce our pricing policy for 2026 at that time.
Notably, FTUSA has articulated a vision and strategy for farmer impact that is based on growing sales volumes. Price stabilization is a key component of this strategy. Innovation that adds value and relevance to the Fair Trade model is the other pillar of our strategy. Toward that end, we are leveraging the expertise of our internal teams, external consultants, our esteemed Coffee Impact Advisory Board, and our trusted Council of Coffee Producer Leaders to continue exploring innovation efforts that unlock even more value and impact for producers and industry partners.
For example, at the annual Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) trade show in April, we convened over 160 coffee producer leaders from a dozen countries around the world to discuss the current market volatility, our volume-focused strategy for impact, and model innovation. Some of the key initiatives discussed included: European Union Deforestation Regulations (EUDR) compliance; supporting and monetizing climate-friendly practices such as regenerative agriculture; and developing the technological capabilities to enhance supply chain transparency and deliver stronger access to producer impact data. With regard to this last initiative, we believe that “data on demand” – for industry, consumers, and producers – is critical to meet growing stakeholder demand for supply chain insights and content. These insights will allow producers and industry to better understand risks, enhance outcomes, and partner more effectively to bring more Fair Trade Certified coffee to market. Investing in technology, data, and content will also allow us to offer consumers more opportunities to connect with the farmers behind the beans that they buy, driving greater demand.
We will continue to share updates as we test, learn, and iterate our initiatives. After 25 years of market and movement building in the United States, we are proud of our collective impact. Clearly, we have helped evolve the global coffee market toward more responsible, sustainable practices – benefitting millions of farmers and their families. At the same time, we are humbled by how far we have to go. We seek to help improve the lives of coffee farmers, contribute to the development of rural communities, and protect the environment – at scale. We are committed to partnering with producers and industry to achieve that vision. And we have heard them clearly: during these turbulent times of market volatility, stabilizing the Fair Trade price and premium – combined with model innovation – are the best strategies for growing the impact of our global movement.