Global Market Report: Coffee

The report examines the global coffee market, highlighting a growth in VSS-compliant production which reached at least 34% of total production in 2016. While demand is increasing in emerging economies, the sector faces risks from price volatility and climate change. The analysis identifies Ethiopia and Uganda as having high potential for VSS expansion among LHDCs.

• In 2017, the coffee sector had a retail market value of USD 83 billion and provided jobs for 125 million people, with 70 per cent of total production exported at a value of USD 19 billion.
• VSS-compliant coffee production grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 24 per cent from 2008 to 2016, accounting for at least 34 per cent of overall coffee production by 2016.
• The five main VSSs in the coffee sector, ranked by production size, are 4C, UTZ Certified, Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, and Organic.
• Climate change poses significant risks to coffee yields through unpredictable weather patterns and severe pest and disease outbreaks, such as coffee rust, which increase global market volatility.
• There is a supply-demand imbalance for VSS-compliant coffee because demand is concentrated in traditional markets like Europe and the United States, remaining lower than the available supply.
• Among Low Human Development Countries (LHDCs), Ethiopia and Uganda show the highest potential for expanding VSS-compliant coffee production based on their share of total production, VSS presence, and HDI value, followed by Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, and Papua New Guinea.
• Farm profitability is hindered by a history of price decline and volatility, where farm gate prices often fail to keep pace with production costs, disincentivizing farmers from remaining in the sector.

APA

Voora, V., Bermúdez, S., Larrea, C., & Baliño, S. (2019). Global Market Report: Coffee. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ssi-global-market-report-coffee.pdf

Chicago

Voora, Vivek, Steffany Bermúdez, Cristina Larrea, and Sofia Baliño. Global Market Report: Coffee. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2019. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ssi-global-market-report-coffee.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Voora |first1=Vivek |last2=Bermúdez |first2=Steffany |last3=Larrea |first3=Cristina |last4=Baliño |first4=Sofia |title=Global Market Report: Coffee |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2019 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ssi-global-market-report-coffee.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{voora2019global, author = {Voora, Vivek and Bermúdez, Steffany and Larrea, Cristina and Baliño, Sofia}, title = {{Global Market Report: Coffee}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2019}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ssi-global-market-report-coffee.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }