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Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
Coffee exporters from Africa, the Pacific, Latin America, and Southeast Asia showcase at World of Coffee Geneva 2025
The International Trade Centre (ITC) is showcasing its longstanding leadership in sustainable coffee development at the Specialty Coffee Association's World of Coffee – Europe's largest coffee trade show – hosted for the first time in Geneva from 26–28 June 2025. For over two decades, ITC has worked closely with the International Coffee Organization and regional institutions to support coffee value chains and SMEs across Latin America, Africa and Asia. From its flagship publication, The Coffee Guide – now in its fourth edition and widely regarded as the industry reference – to its deep partnerships promoting circular economy and inclusive business models, ITC supports building resilience, competitiveness and sustainable value chains for SME development.. This year's presence at the World of Coffee spotlights how ITC is investing in value addition, technical capacity building, regional trade, and youth and women-led entrepreneurship – with a focus on accompanying small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their efforts to benefit from trade while securing better market access and stronger returns. ITC Executive Director Pamela Coke-Hamilton said: 'Coffee is more than a commodity – for the many small businesses we support in countries across the world, the ability to improve the quality of their beans, process at origin and meet sustainability requirements in the face of rising climate concerns means they're able to adapt to changes to tap into new markets and compete at the global level.' ICO Executive Director Vanusia Nogueira said: 'No one can tackle the coffee sector's challenges alone. We need expertise, funding, capable people and strong partnerships for collective action. The ICO and ITC have worked together for many years, and Pamela and I have deepened this collaboration – going beyond The Coffee Guide to drive calls to action across numerous coffee-producing countries. Together, we've supported efforts ranging from EUDR compliance and new field procedures to market access and boosting local consumption – each critical to increasing incomes where coffee is grown.' Hon. Bwino Fred Kyakulaga, Uganda's Minister of State for Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, said: 'Uganda reaffirms its ambitious commitment to transform its export trajectory—from $50 billion to $500 billion—through strategic value addition. Coffee will be one of the primary drivers for achieving this target, reinforcing not only our economic competitiveness but also our national transformation agenda. Additionally, the Government of Uganda has set aside $100 million to support investment in the gradual transition of the coffee sector from green bean export to both green bean and soluble coffee exports in a bid to generate more revenue and income for the farmers and the country as a whole.' In a separate meeting with ITC Deputy Executive Director Dorothy Tembo and her team, Hon. Bwino explored the possibility of a partnership with ITC focusing on value addition through science and technology transfer for sustainably increased coffee processing production. ITC at World of Coffee Booth 1359 | Palexpo Geneva | 26–28 June At Booth 1359, visitors can taste unique coffees from across the globe, connect directly with producers, and learn how ITC programmes are enabling sustainable and inclusive coffee growth from seed to sip. ITC will also co-host national booths with coffee sector stakeholders from: Booth 1359: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana Booth 2469: Burundi Booth 2365: Kenya Booth 2531: Lao People's Democratic Republic Booth 2467: Papua New Guinea Booth 2271: Rwanda Booth 2377: United Republic of Tanzania Booth 2371: Uganda ITC Programmes represented ITC Window I Trust Fund, related to the development of methodologies associated with accompanying SMEs in the green transition European Union-East African Community Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP) II, funded by the EU, will support over 40 coffee companies from East Africa to exhibit and engage with buyers. African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) Business-Friendly, funded by the EU and Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, empowers small businesses through value addition, circular economy and trade development. Netherlands Trust Fund V, funded by the Government of the Netherlands, supports coffee producers in Ethiopia, Ghana, and Senegal to grow exports and secure livelihoods. United Kingdom Trade Partnerships Programme (UKTP), funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, aims to increase trade from developing countries to the United Kingdom and the European Union by maximizing the benefits of respective Economic Partnership Agreements and the United Kingdom's Developing Countries Trading Scheme. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Trade Centre.
Boston Globe
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
Sebastião Salgado, photographer of human misery and dignity, dies at 81
A scene from the 2014 French/Brazilian documentary film "The Salt of the Earth," directed by Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders. Courtesy of (c) Sebastiao Salgado In his landmark 1986 photo essay of gold mine workers in the Pará state in northern Brazil, one image showed a man encased in sweat and dirt cresting a wooden ladder. A loaded bag from the mine floor was held by a rope around his forehead. Another scene, shot from within the mine, was a wide-angle tableau of workers climbing and digging in an ant-like flow. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Goldmine, Serra Pelada, State of Pará, Brazil, 1986 © Sebastião Salgado © Sebastião Salgado, courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery Advertisement For decades, Mr. Salgado was on hand for many of the world's major crises - the devastating famine in Ethiopia in the 1980s, the 1991 US-led war to oust Iraqi forces from Kuwait, the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, and other upheavals. He described his mission as seeking to convey a sense of the ordinary people caught, often helpless, in the tumult. The assignment in Kuwait was for The New York Times Magazine and centered on the efforts of workers struggling to extinguish oil-well fires set by Saddam Hussein's troops, an environmental disaster that came to define Iraq's turbulent retreat from Kuwait. 'The photos were beyond extraordinary,' said Kathy Ryan, a former photo director at magazine, who worked with Mr. Salgado on that assignment. 'It was one of the best photo essays ever made.' Advertisement On another noteworthy assignment, Mr. Salgado documented dramatic scenes following a failed assassination attempt on President Reagan in 1981. He photographed the gunman, John Hinckley Jr., moments after he was tackled to the ground. 'Everyone knows he had an incredible way of making pictures,' Ryan said. But, she added, he also had an uncanny sense of 'where important stories were.' His other projects - part of a body of work spanning 120 countries - included a series on migrants in North Africa desperate to reach Europe and the life in slums where the immediate concerns are food and safety. 'I admit there's a very specific message in my work,' Mr. Salgado said in a 1990 interview with journalist Amanda Hopkinson in London. 'The developing countries have never been as poor or as dependent as they are today.' 'It is time to launch the concept of the universality of humanity,' he continued. 'Photography lends itself to a demonstration of this and as an instrument of solidarity between peoples.' A scene from "The Salt of the Earth," directed by Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and Wim Wenders. Photo courtesy of (c) Sebastiao Salgado An economist by training, he borrowed his wife's camera in 1971 while working in London for the International Coffee Organization. During a trip to Africa, he took photos of workers and rural life. 'Four days later I had an obsession; a fortnight later, a camera of my own,' Mr. Salgado recounted. 'Within a month I had a darkroom.' He sought jobs as a freelance photographer in 1973 and later contributed work to the Sygma and Gamma photo agencies. In the late 1970s, he joined Magnum, a professional home for some of the world's top photographers. Advertisement Mr. Salgado stepped away from Magnum in 1994 to establish Amazonia Images with his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado. Four years later, the couple founded the environmental group Instituto Terra, which seeks to restore stretches of Brazil's southeastern Atlantic Forest threatened by development. Mr. Salgado increasingly turned his lens on nature - drawing close enough to photograph the armor-like skin on a marine iguana in the Galapagos and, other times, pulled back for vistas such as a river through the Alaskan wilderness and the sculpted curves of Antarctic icebergs. An iceberg between Paulet and South Shetland islands off Antarctica, shown in a scene from "The Salt of the Earth." Courtesy of (c) Sebastiao Salgado In his 'Amazonia' series, Mr. Salgado traveled across the rainforest, taking portraits of Indigenous people and chronicling the power of the natural world such as towering clouds, appearing in his photos the color of forged steel, rising above the forest canopy. In a private nature reserve, he and his wife planted more than 300 species of trees as part of a rewilding. As the trees grew, birds and insects returned. The tree roots held back erosion. 'Although we were amazed at how nature can fight back, we began to get worried about the threat to the whole planet,' Mr. Salgado told the British Journal of Photography in 2013. 'There is a strange idea that nature and humanity are different but in fact this separation poses a great threat to humanity,' he added. 'We think we can control nature, but it's easy to forget that we need it for our survival.' Manda Yawanawá, from the village of Escondido. Rio Gregório Indigenous Territory, State of Acre, Brazil, 2016 © Sebastião Salgado © Sebastião Salgado, courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery Sebastião Ribeiro Salgado Jr. was born in Aimorés, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais north of Rio de Janeiro, on Feb. 8, 1944. His family operated a cattle ranch. Advertisement In 1964, the Brazilian military seized control of the government in a coup that ousted President João Goulart. As the ruling junta waged crackdowns on dissent, Mr. Salgado and his wife decided to flee. They headed in 1969 to Paris, which would become their main base over the next five decades. 'If a photographer is not there, there's no image. We need to be there,' he told Forbes Brasil. 'We expose ourselves a lot. And that is why it is such an immense privilege.' Among his honors was the Leica Oskar Barnack Awards, which he received twice, and more than 10 World Press Photo awards in categories including news feature and general news. In addition to his wife, he leaves his sons, Juliano and Rodrigo, and two grandchildren. A 2014 documentary on Mr. Salgado's life and work, 'The Salt of the Earth,' was co-directed by Wim Wenders and his son Juliano. Mr. Salgado, an honorary degree recipient, took a picture during a Harvard Commencement ceremony in Cambridge in 2022. Mary Schwalm/Associated Press In a memorial ceremony in Brazil's capital, Brasília, the country's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, led a minute of silence and called Mr. Salgado's photographs 'a wake-up call for the conscience of all humanity.' During an interview with the Guardian last year, Mr. Salgado asked: 'Why should the poor world be uglier than the rich world? The light here is the same as there. The dignity here is the same as there.' Mount Roraima, State of Roraima, Brazil, 2018 © Sebastião Salgado © Sebastião Salgado, courtesy of Robert Klein Gallery Material from The New York Times was used in this obituary.
Arabian Post
26-05-2025
- General
- Arabian Post
Sebastião Salgado, Master of Monochrome, Dies at 81
Sebastião Salgado, the Brazilian photographer whose haunting black-and-white images chronicled the human condition and environmental fragility, died on 23 May 2025 in Paris at the age of 81. His death was attributed to leukaemia, a condition linked to malaria he contracted during a 2010 assignment in Indonesia. Born on 8 February 1944 in Aimorés, Minas Gerais, Salgado initially pursued a career in economics, earning a master's degree from the University of São Paulo. His trajectory shifted in the early 1970s when, while working for the International Coffee Organization, he began photographing coffee plantations in Africa. This experience ignited a passion for photography that led him to abandon economics and dedicate himself fully to documenting global social issues. Salgado's work is distinguished by its profound empathy and meticulous composition. Over five decades, he travelled to more than 130 countries, capturing images that highlighted the dignity and resilience of people facing adversity. His seminal projects include 'Workers' , a tribute to manual labourers worldwide; 'Exodus' , documenting mass migrations and displacements; and 'Genesis' , a visual homage to the planet's pristine landscapes and indigenous cultures. ADVERTISEMENT His commitment to long-term projects allowed him to delve deeply into his subjects, often spending years on a single series. This approach garnered both acclaim and criticism; while many praised the aesthetic and emotional power of his images, some argued that his portrayal of suffering risked romanticising hardship. Salgado defended his methodology, asserting that his intent was to bear witness and provoke reflection. In the 1990s, after witnessing the horrors of the Rwandan genocide, Salgado experienced a period of profound personal crisis. He withdrew from photography and returned to Brazil, where he and his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado, embarked on an ambitious reforestation project on his family's degraded farmland. This endeavour led to the founding of Instituto Terra in 1998, a non-profit organisation dedicated to environmental restoration and education. Over the years, the institute has planted millions of trees, revitalising the Atlantic Forest and serving as a model for sustainable development. Salgado's contributions to photography and environmentalism earned him numerous accolades, including the W. Eugene Smith Memorial Fund Grant, the Royal Photographic Society's Centenary Medal, and the Praemium Imperiale. He was also a member of the French Academy of Fine Arts and an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2014, his life and work were chronicled in the documentary 'The Salt of the Earth,' co-directed by his son Juliano Ribeiro Salgado and filmmaker Wim Wenders. In his later years, Salgado turned his lens towards the natural world, producing images that celebrated the planet's biodiversity and underscored the urgency of conservation. His 'Amazônia' project, published in 2021, is a testament to this shift, featuring photographs of the Amazon rainforest and its indigenous inhabitants. This body of work reflects his belief that humanity's fate is inextricably linked to the health of the environment.
Nahar Net
30-04-2025
- Business
- Nahar Net
Climate change is making coffee more expensive, tariffs likely will too
by Naharnet Newsdesk 30 April 2025, 18:14 With her purple-and-pink hair swaying, Reneé Colón stands on a stepladder in the rented corner of a warehouse, pouring Brazilian coffee beans into her groaning old roasting machine. The beans are precious because they survived severe drought in a year when environmental conditions depressed coffee production globally, doubling the price of raw beans in just months. "Unfortunately, coffee is going to become more scarce," said Colón, founder and roaster at Fuego Coffee Roasters. "Seeing that dramatic loss of the Brazilian crop is a perfect example." Losses from heat and drought have cut production forecasts in Brazil and Vietnam, the world's largest coffee growers. Global production is still expected to increase, but not as much as commodity market investors had expected. That's sent coffee prices up, largely because of continued high demand in Europe, the U.S., and China. Prices peaked in February but have remained high, forcing roasters like Colón to weigh how much of that cost to absorb and how much to pass on to consumers. The beans Colón was roasting cost her $5.50 per pound in early March, more than double what they cost in September. And that was for mixed, midrange beans. Specialty coffees — grown in delicate climates to slow growth and add flavor — can cost even more. President Donald Trump's current 10% tariffs cover most coffee-producing countries, including Brazil, Ethiopia and Colombia, and are expected to drive up costs for Americans. Amid his chaotic tariff pronouncements — at one point he threatened 46% tariffs on Vietnam imports and 32% on Indonesia imports before pausing them — American coffee roasters are rethinking their supply chains. "With all these changes in coffee maybe we should open our own damn farm," Colón muses. Rural New York isn't an option, of course. The world's best coffee thrives near the equator, where seasons are long, and in high altitudes, where slow growing allows beans to gather flavor. But Puerto Rico, where Colón and her husband have roots, isn't a serious option, either — labor costs are too high and she worries about the increasing risk of crop-damaging hurricanes. She shrugs off buying coffee from Hawaii and California, which she says is either poor quality, overpriced or both. In February, global coffee green exports were down 14.2% from a year earlier, according to the International Coffee Organization's market report. The shortage led to the highest price ever for raw coffee in February, breaking the record set in 1977 when severe frost wiped out 70% of Brazil's coffee plants. Climate isn't the only thing driving up prices, said Daria Whalen, a buyer for San Francisco-based Ritual Coffee Roasters. Inflation is driving up the cost of labor, fertilizers, and borrowing, she said. She described being in Mexico in April seeking to finalize contracts between Trump's fits and starts on tariffs. It reminded her of being in Colombia a month earlier as Trump threatened and then backed away from tariffs that would have affected coffee prices. "It was kind of like roller coaster day, because at the end of the day it didn't exist," Whalen said. Some of the recent rise in coffee prices may be from importers buying extra in anticipation of the tariffs. Colón believes prices will go still higher as import taxes begin being paid. And with consumer confidence hitting a 12-year low, Colón could see a decrease in demand for her premium coffee. "It is tough on our end because it drives the price up, tough on the consumer end because they have to pay more and tough on the farmers' end because they may be experiencing really significant losses," Colón said. Yet she's committed to expanding. In December, she and her husband took out a $50,000 loan to buy a custom coffee roaster from Turkey that will triple capacity. They're trying to increase sales by adding new wholesale clients like coffee shops, and selling directly to homes via a beans-of-the-month-style subscription service. The Colóns have raised the wholesale price on a pound of roasted beans by 25 cents. They're considering doing the same for pour-overs and espresso drinks at their two retail locations. At one of those, called Melo, one couple said they don't look at the coffee's price on the receipt. For them, it's a treat. "We know we could go find coffee cheaper somewhere else," said Rob Newell, a high school biology teacher, as he held a cooing infant daughter alongside his wife, who is also a teacher. "Maybe it's just because we're new parents, but you get, like, cabin fever staying in the house all day." Colón is also seeking to cut costs. The warehouse where she roasts has some extra space, so she's weighing stacking up more bags of raw beans there to save as much as $500 on monthly storage costs in port cities. She's tried to cultivate relationships with farmers to minimize price spikes and control bean quality. She described working with a farmer in Colombia as coffee prices were spiking in February to lock in a one-year contract that avoided the worst of the increase. And like many small business owners, she's had to get used to the complexity of tariffs. In January, she turned down a pitch from a Montreal coffee importer who suggested the U.S. dollar's strength in Canada would allow her to save money by importing through their warehouse. She feared that tariffs on Canada could increase prices. Plus, the coffee would have to cross an extra border, risking delays. And the value of the dollar has been up and down. "I want things to be less complicated instead of more," she said.
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Is Trump's tariff policy threatening your morning coffee?
With her purple-and-pink hair swaying, Renee Colon stands on a stepladder in the rented corner of a warehouse, pouring Brazilian coffee beans into her groaning old roasting machine. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack A Chinese shadow falls on Pahalgam terror attack case probe How India can use water to pressure Pakistan Buzzkill: How India can dissolve the Pakistan problem, not just swat it The beans are precious because they survived severe drought in a year when environmental conditions depressed coffee production globally, doubling the price of raw beans in just months. "Unfortunately, coffee is going to become more scarce," said Colon, founder and roaster at Fuego Coffee Roasters . "Seeing that dramatic loss of the Brazilian crop is a perfect example." Losses from heat and drought have cut production forecasts in Brazil and Vietnam, the world's largest coffee growers. Global production is still expected to increase, but not as much as commodity market investors had expected. That's sent coffee prices up, largely because of continued high demand in Europe, the U.S., and China. Prices peaked in February but have remained high, forcing roasters like Colon to weigh how much of that cost to absorb and how much to pass on to consumers. Live Events The beans Colon was roasting cost her $5.50 per pound in early March, more than double what they cost in September. And that was for mixed, midrange beans. Specialty coffees - grown in delicate climates to slow growth and add flavor - can cost even more. ALSO READ: 'Really like where we are at now': Trump trade adviser's bizarre remark as US economy shrinks amid tariff war President Donald Trump 's current 10% tariffs cover most coffee-producing countries, including Brazil, Ethiopia and Colombia, and are expected to drive up costs for Americans. Amid his chaotic tariff pronouncements - at one point he threatened 46% tariffs on Vietnam imports and 32% on Indonesia imports before pausing them - American coffee roasters are rethinking their supply chains. "With all these changes in coffee maybe we should open our own damn farm," Colon muses. Rural New York isn't an option, of course. The world's best coffee thrives near the equator, where seasons are long, and in high altitudes, where slow growing allows beans to gather flavor. But Puerto Rico, where Colon and her husband have roots, isn't a serious option, either - labor costs are too high and she worries about the increasing risk of crop-damaging hurricanes. She shrugs off buying coffee from Hawaii and California, which she says is either poor quality, overpriced or both. In February, global coffee green exports were down 14.2% from a year earlier, according to the International Coffee Organization 's market report. The shortage led to the highest price ever for raw coffee in February, breaking the record set in 1977 when severe frost wiped out 70% of Brazil's coffee plants. Climate isn't the only thing driving up prices, said Daria Whalen, a buyer for San Francisco-based Ritual Coffee Roasters. Inflation is driving up the cost of labor, fertilizers, and borrowing, she said. ALSO READ: A livid Trump dials Jeff Bezos after White House accuses Amazon of 'hostile, political' act She described being in Mexico in April seeking to finalize contracts between Trump's fits and starts on tariffs. It reminded her of being in Colombia a month earlier as Trump threatened and then backed away from tariffs that would have affected coffee prices. "It was kind of like roller coaster day, because at the end of the day it didn't exist," Whalen said. Some of the recent rise in coffee prices may be from importers buying extra in anticipation of the tariffs. Colon believes prices will go still higher as import taxes begin being paid. And with consumer confidence hitting a 12-year low, Colon could see a decrease in demand for her premium coffee. "It is tough on our end because it drives the price up, tough on the consumer end because they have to pay more and tough on the farmers' end because they may be experiencing really significant losses," Colon said. Yet she's committed to expanding. In December, she and her husband took out a $50,000 loan to buy a custom coffee roaster from Turkey that will triple capacity. They're trying to increase sales by adding new wholesale clients like coffee shops, and selling directly to homes via a beans-of-the-month-style subscription service. ALSO READ: Why is Donald Trump considering legal action against New York Times? The Colons have raised the wholesale price on a pound of roasted beans by 25 cents. They're considering doing the same for pour-overs and espresso drinks at their two retail locations. At one of those, called Melo, one couple said they don't look at the coffee's price on the receipt. For them, it's a treat. "We know we could go find coffee cheaper somewhere else," said Rob Newell , a high school biology teacher, as he held a cooing infant daughter alongside his wife, who is also a teacher. "Maybe it's just because we're new parents, but you get, like, cabin fever staying in the house all day." Colon is also seeking to cut costs. The warehouse where she roasts has some extra space, so she's weighing stacking up more bags of raw beans there to save as much as $500 on monthly storage costs in port cities. She's tried to cultivate relationships with farmers to minimize price spikes and control bean quality. She described working with a farmer in Colombia as coffee prices were spiking in February to lock in a one-year contract that avoided the worst of the increase. And like many small business owners, she's had to get used to the complexity of tariffs. In January, she turned down a pitch from a Montreal coffee importer who suggested the U.S. dollar's strength in Canada would allow her to save money by importing through their warehouse. She feared that tariffs on Canada could increase prices. Plus, the coffee would have to cross an extra border, risking delays. And the value of the dollar has been up and down. "I want things to be less complicated instead of more," she said. ___ The Associated Press ' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
