PESCARA G7 Development Ministers’ Meeting Working Lunch: “Sustainability and Resilience of the Coffee Value Chain” Statement

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very pleased to be participating in this G7 working meeting on the coffee sector, and to see representatives of the coffee industry here, both from the private sector, as well as the International Coffee Organization.

Since I came to FAO, I have been promoting coffee, but in fact I started promoting coffee in China already 40 years ago. Few Chinese people can finish six cups of double espresso a day like I do – and I can still have a good sleep!

I have understood from my 40 years’ experience that coffee is not only important for smallholder farmers, but also for the empowerment of women, youth and Indigenous Peoples, as well as promoting social cohesion. The cultivation and export of coffee is a vital source of income in countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia, driving economic growth and reducing rural poverty.

Coffee is the most widely traded tropical product, with up to 25 million farming households globally accounting for 80 percent of world output. Production is concentrated in developing countries, where coffee accounts for a sizeable share of export earnings and provides a key source of livelihood for households.

The first reason why coffee is one of the important common commodities, is because it contributes to economic, environmental and social development. I established a coffee and tea dialogue ten years ago to promote the two sectors together, because in many countries, especially in Asia, coffee is a new emerging commodity, and it therefore provides an historical opportunity.

For tea you need a PH value of less than 3.45, but for coffee you need good water and a PH value between 7.3 and 7.8 - I am a scientist you know!

In Italy you have such good coffee because you have a combination of good water, good service and good machinery. Whenever I return to Rome after my travels the first thing I have is a cup of double espresso!

The FAO Committee on Commodity Problems recently endorsed Brazil's proposal to establish an International Coffee Day annually on 1 October, which will now be submitted to the UN General Assembly for endorsement. This is a welcome initiative to highlight global progress toward a more sustainable and resilient coffee value chain.

Secondly, at FAO we also promote the coffee value chain, through the FAO Hand-in-Hand Initiative - which is a country-owned and country-led initiative - to focus on investment in coffee and the coffee industry and to assist countries to establish public-private partnerships,

And third, we are supporting Members in strengthening research and innovation in coffee for a more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable coffee industry. I hope the G7 members, as major importers of coffee, will play a leading role to the transformation of the whole coffee industry.

As importers, you are fortunate to get a high-quality coffee beans, especially from tropical countries, but now it is time to invest long-term in the sector, to support academia, research and innovation, across the value chair, from soil and climate change to agriculture, for a climate neutral sector.

In FAO, we started five years ago, in Ethiopia, Ecuador, and in Vietnam, among others, to expand the carbon neutral tea industry. Now, we need to expand from a climate neutral tea value chain to coffee. But to do this, we need a lot of emphasis on research in the coffee industry.

Technical assistance to coffee-producing countries is crucial to support climate resilience and sustainability across value chains.

Lastly, we should start supporting producers, not only farmers, and especially small-scale producers, including small service providers, such as here in Italy and in other parts of the world. There is still much to be done to ensure that the benefits of the coffee sector contribute to reducing poverty among these small-scale producers. This is a real job creating initiative that can have huge implications – I can assure you!

I wish to once again thank Deputy Prime Minister Tajani for the support to the coffee sector.

Let us enjoy a good cup of coffee and benefit all the producers together.

Thank you.