Coffee Agreements between Starbucks and Ethiopia Hopeful

Oxfam Optimistic on Progress Between

Starbucks and Ethiopia on Trademarking Initiative

Boston – International agency Oxfam welcomed today’s news that the Government of Ethiopia and the Starbucks Coffee Company have agreed in principle to sign a licensing, distribution and marketing agreement that recognizes the importance and integrity of Ethiopia’s specialty coffee names, Harar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe.

 “This is an important step for Ethiopia as it engages with coffee companies on its innovative trademarking initiative designed to help alleviate poverty,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America.  “This initiative will help create real change for the 15 million Ethiopians dependent on the country’s coffee sector.”

According to Ethiopia and Starbucks, the agreement is expected to be finalized and signed by both parties in May.  More details regarding the content of the agreement will be available once it has been signed.

"Oxfam eagerly awaits the final agreement and long overdue recognition of these coffees as unique and valued products of Ethiopia's coffee farmers," continued Offenheiser.

In the meantime, Ethiopia’s trademarking project has continued to gain momentum.  The licensing team heading the project has begun to roll out an implementation plan for the registered trademarks in Canada, the European Union, the United States and Japan. A marketing plan aimed at further raising the profile of the Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe brands on the international market is also underway.

The goal of the trademarking initiative is to help Ethiopia’s coffee sector - including farmer cooperatives - earn more from its valuable coffee brands, increase its negotiation leverage through control of the marks, and ultimately increase the price received for its best coffees.  Ethiopia will be able to protect the valuable reputation of its coffees and enable poor growers to capture a greater share of the retail price.

In October 2006, Oxfam launched an international public campaign to encourage Starbucks to engage with Ethiopia directly on the issue of the country’s ownership of its specialty coffee names.  Over 93,000 supporters have called on Starbucks to sign a licensing agreement with Ethiopia.

For more information, please contact Helen DaSilva at (617) 728-2409 (office), (617) 331-2984 (cell) or at hdasilva@oxfamamerica.org.

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UPDATE 1-Starbucks, Ethiopia reach licensing agreement

NEW YORK, May 3 (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp. (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile, Research reached an agreement with the Ethiopian government, which could settle a dispute over the trademarking of the nation's coffee beans, according to a joint statement on Thursday.

Ethiopia, which prides itself as the birthplace of coffee, has been in dispute with Starbucks, saying the U.S. coffee shop chain had tried to block Africa's biggest producer from trademarking its best-known beans: Sidamo and Harar.

In theory, trademark agreements could bolster incomes for Ethiopia's farmers by allowing the country to negotiate purchasing conditions for coffee roasters or retailers that want to use the names.

Starbucks and the Ethiopian government agreed in principle on a licensing, distribution and marketing deal that recognizes the importance and integrity of the nation's specialty coffee names, they said in the statement.

The parties expect to formalize the details of the agreement and sign it this month.

"Ethiopia is firmly committed to work in partnership with all international specialty coffee companies and distributors of its fine coffees, including Harar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe," said Getachew Mengistie, director general of the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office.

Aid agency Oxfam, which launched an campaign in October last year urging Starbucks to talk to Ethiopia directly on the issue, welcomed the move.

"This initiative will help create real change for the 15 million Ethiopians dependent on the country's coffee sector," Oxfam America President Raymond Offenheiser said.

Poverty is dire in Ethiopia, where a quarter of its 80 million people rely on coffee. The average Ethiopian's yearly income, in purchasing power parity terms, is around $1,000.

Starbucks has advocated a regional certification program to validate the quality and origin of the coffee beans. It has also called for a transparent system that shows the money is going back to impoverished farmers.

But the company had said earlier this year it would not oppose Ethiopia's efforts to trademark its coffee beans.

5.02.2007 - 01:40pm ET

Press release from: Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Company

Dean's Beans Raises the Bar for Trade Justice with Two New Agreements

(CSRwire) May 2, 2007 - Dean's Beans Organic Coffee Company, an all-organic and fair trade coffee and cocoa company in Massachusetts, continues to raise the bar in the area of trade justice with the signing of two new agreements this week regarding Ethiopia and Peru. The two agreements mark the company's continued dedication to improving the lives of small coffee farmers. It also models best practices for companies committed to the Fair Trade model.

 After long negotiations to assure increased benefits to the farmer, Dean's Beans has signed on to the new Ethiopian trademark initiative. This program seeks temporary government ownership of Ethiopian geographic names via trademarking, to increase international recognition of the quality and character of the coffees that come from the famous Yirgacheffe, Sidamo and Harar regions. The program hopes to translate this recognition into higher market prices for Ethiopian coffees through the cooperative work of all industry stakeholders, from farmers through roaster retailers.

 "This is an exciting and novel project that the farmers of the world are watching," says Dean Cycon, founder of Dean's Beans and a long time social justice and environmental lawyer and advocate. "It will take a lot of creative thinking and hard work, but the benefits to the farmers should be substantial."

 On Friday, Dean's Beans will also sign a pioneering long-term fair trade contract with Peruvian coffee cooperative Oro Verde, based in Lamas, San Martin. Although most companies involved to varying degrees with fair trade mention the fair trade requirement to commit to long term relationships in their marketing materials, this agreement is the first to spell out what this actually means on the ground for both parties. The contract commits Dean's Beans and Oro Verde to specific actions regarding price, marketing and product development assistance and broader obligations for community development and cultural revitalization. The agreement will be signed at the Specialty Coffee Association of America's annual conference in Long Beach, California.

 "Everybody talks about long-term commitment, but no one has been willing to commit themselves to what that really means. We are hoping that this agreement will model the possibilities for others interested in the welfare of the coffee communities they buy from as well as the long term success of their own companies," Cycon said.

For more information please contact:

 Dean Cycon, President

Dean's Beans Organic Coffee

1-800-325-3008

www.deansbeans.com

Shayna Harris, Coffee Program Organizer

Oxfam America

Tel +001 (617) 728-2443

sharris@oxfamamerica.org

226 Causeway Street, 5th Floor

Boston, MA 02114-2206

Main office line 800-77-OXFAM (toll free in US) and 617-482-1211

::: www.oxfamamerica.org/coffee :::