No deal in international coffee talks

Coffee processors and producers will have to wait another year for a new International Coffee Agreement after talks over the last week failed to make a breakthrough.

 
It means the current agreement will be extended for another year, putting back
potentially important reforms that could help the coffee sector to better
address issues of sustainability, trade and emerging market consumption.
 ICO members, which include the EU, US
and most major producer countries, spent four days last week discussing issues
such as how to make the coffee chain more sustainable and how to take advantage
of emerging markets, such as Brazil, Russia and China.
One of the newest elements in the next agreement is set to be a consultative forum,
initially suggested by the US, which would help to facilitate finance and
advise on risk management in producer countries and their local communities.