4C Compliant Coffee triples in 2011-12 coffee year

The 4C Association announced on 21 November that amounts of 4C Compliant Coffee more than tripled in the coffee year 2011-12 over a year prior. A total of 2,545,139 bags of 4C Compliant Coffee were received by industry members of the 4C Association during this period, the group said in a statement. It reported that sales of certified sustainable coffees from 4C Members Fairtrade International, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ Certified have also been growing steadily over the last few years.  “This is very good news for the entire coffee community. Five years after the first 4C Compliant Coffee was traded, the concept is really taking off,” said Robert Waggwa Nsibirwa, Chairman of the 4C Council and Board Member of the African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA), in a statement. “We are still far from reaching the vision of a sustainable coffee sector for generations to come, but this is a very important milestone.”  The group attributed the growth to an increasing number of 4C industry members including 4C Compliant Coffee in their supply chains. The organisation said it experienced steep growth in membership over the last five years, from 37 founding members, to over 230 members to date. It says that most key players in the coffee industry, producers, roasters, traders and civil society, are now represented. On the supply side, currently there are 156 licensed 4C Units  in 19 countries that have been independently verified against the principles of the 4C Code of Conduct. These 4C Units comprise more than 180,000 farmers and 680,000 workers.   Mondelēz International, Nestlé, Tchibo and other major coffee companies have committed to securing 4C Compliant Coffee, and the association expects that the demand will continue to increase significantly in the coming years following on from these commitments.