The Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP, Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries, has signed the International Coffee Agreement (ICA) 2022 on behalf of the United Kingdom Government.
The signing took place at the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) headquarters in London, alongside an event organised by the British Coffee Association (BCA), the representative organisation of the coffee industry in the United Kingdom.
“Promoting consumer choice by maintaining a diverse range of coffee origins, while underpinning the need for a profitable income for producers, is an ambition which BCA works towards in close co-ordination with industry and other coffee associations,” says Paul Rooke, Executive Director of the BCA.
“We see ICO, and this updated agreement, as key components of delivering that ambition, and look forward to working with Government Departments and colleagues at ICO to ensure the United Kingdom plays a central role in securing a positive future for coffee.”
Research published by the BCA shows that the United Kingdom has a flourishing coffee industry – the nation drinks approximately 98 million cups of coffee every day, with the industry creating over 210,000 United Kingdom jobs.
“Today, we celebrate a remarkable moment in the longstanding partnership between the ICO and the United Kingdom, but also in the 60-year history of the ICO. The signature of the new ICA 2022 by the United Kingdom opens a new chapter in our relationship with our host country,” says Vanúsia Nogueira, Executive Director of the ICO.
“The ICA 2022 prioritises not only a strengthened co-operation between the ICO and signatory governments but also, for the first time, stronger partnerships with the private sector and civil society. We are confident that today’s signature will contribute to bringing together coffee farmers in producing countries with industry and consumers in the United Kingdom.”
Minister Spencer signed the landmark 2022 agreement in the presence of the Executive Directors of the ICO and BCA, as well as key United Kingdom coffee industry representatives. The Agreement is the eighth of its kind since the first ICA, signed in 1962 at the United Nations in New York, which established the ICO with its headquarters in London.
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