The sustainable coffee market in Italy is very much in its infant stage. Prior to 1999 only a few
low-volume sellers carried it. The majority of businesses involved in the field have sold sustainable coffees for less than three years.
Organic coffee is known in Italy as “caffè biologico” or “caffè bio”, while fair trade coffee is referred to as “caffè equo solidale”. Both categories have approximately the same size, while a significant portion of each is double certified (figure 12.3).45
Since its introduction in 1987 until 1992, most of the organic coffee consumed in Italy was certified and imported from Germany. The European Commission regulation that established organic standards (#2092/91) in 1991 helped open up the market for direct importing from origins and for the internal certification of roasters and distributors in Italy. Many importers find it much easier to import from other European
45 An exact count of the volume of fair trade coffees that are also organic is difficult to compute, as most companies do not keep separate records of organic and non-organic fair trade coffees. However, interviewees from large import-ing companies stated that about 30 percent or more of their fair trade was also organic and it will increase further in the future. Transfair claims that the percentage of fair trade certified as organic has grown from 30 percent in 1997 to 35 percent in 2001 with further growth expected.
Figure 12.2 Total Italian per capita consumption (Kg green)
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Countries rather than from origin since procedures imposed by the Ministry are reportedly difficult and time consuming: taking three to six months for authorization and the authorization to import is reportedly only valid for one year.
While sustainable coffee still covers a very small portion of the market (0.3 percent in 2001), it shows signs of increasing its market share as market penetration continues to rise. Most of the industry players projected growth or strong growth for each category of sustainable coffees in the year 2002 (figure 12.4).
Certification
Since its introduction in 1987 until 1992, most of the organic coffee consumed in Italy was certified and imported from Germany. The European Council regulation that established organic standards (#2092/91) in 1991 helped open up the market for direct importing from origins and for the internal certification of roasters and distributors in Italy.
Final product certification is conducted by Italian certifiers, of which the most popular are: Istituto Mediterraneo di Certificazione (IMC), Consorzio Figure 12.3 Sustainable coffees by type in 2001 (Metric tons green)
Figure 12.4 Italian sustainable coffee growth in 2002
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Figure 12.5 Are certifications considered to be confusing?
Figure 12.6 Are current premiums considered to be reasonable?
per il Controllo di Prodotti Biologici (CCPB), Quality, Certification and Inspection International Services (QC&I), BioAgriCert, and Associazione Italiana per Agricoltura Biologica / Istituto di Certificazione Etica e Ambientale (AIAB/ICEA). Green coffee imports are certified by several European companies partly reflecting Italy’s preference to import a number of such coffees via European traders because of its internal bureaucratic barriers.
The most important certifiers and inspection agencies were, in order of importance: IMO, Krav, Ecocert, SKAL and BCS. Much of fair trade is certified by Transfair Italy and a very
significant quantity is certified by CTM. Both of these entities are accredited by FLO.
Although the coffee trade generally feels that they are familiar with the different certifications, their responses would indicate that there is still a certain lack of clarity about what actually happens in the fair trade process, and most commented that the complexity of the Italian organic process was daunting. Most appear to be frustrated with these processes, particularly with the government bureaucracy, and a bit more than half claim that their clients and consumers are confused about the different certifications, particularly fair trade (figure 12.5).
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Premiums
Premiums for organic coffees were generally considered acceptable, although some complained about high certification costs and that the only difference between organic and non-organic coffee was the certification (figure 12.6).
Most, but not all, of the firms interviewed agreed that the premiums for fair trade coffees were justified, although in this case several commented that it was unclear how much of the premium actually benefited the growers.
Most of the industry felt that organic premiums would decline over the next two years primarily due to expected reductions in certification costs, less bureaucratic costs, and greater volumes. For similar reasons, a comparable percentage of firms stated that they expected premiums on fair trade and double certified coffees also to be reduced in the near future (figure 12.7).
Retail prices
Retail prices vary from US$10.20 to US$14.95 per kg for fair trade coffees and from US$12.20 to US$16.40 per kg for organic coffees. Similar quality conventional coffees cost from US$9.00 to US$16.00 per kg (figure 12.8).
The figure shows that fair trade coffees start at less than 15 percent more than conventional and can even be less than some conventional coffees, giving them a very reasonable price range for many consumers. Organic however starts at 35 percent more than conventional coffee, which could present a barrier for price-conscious consumers.
Significant supplying countries for sustainable coffees
The Italian market tends to source better quality robustas from Africa, Southeast Asia, and Brazil, since these contribute to specific characteristics that are preferred for dark roast and espresso blends. Fair trade and doubly certified fair trade and organic coffees for the Italian market are being imported from (in order of importance): Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Colombia. The first three countries are predominant.
Organic coffees for the Italian markets are being imported from (in order of importance): Mexico, Guatemala, Bolivia, Peru, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, T h a i l a n d , Ta n z a n i a , C o l o m b i a , B r a z i l , Madagascar, and Uganda.
Figure 12.7 Will premiums continue at their current levels in the medium term?
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