IV 

107TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 604

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States 

should adopt a global strategy to respond to the current coffee crisis, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 13, 2002

Mr. FARR of California (for himself, Mr. BALLENGER, Mr. GILMAN, Ms. 

EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. LEE, Mr. 

GEORGE MILLER of California, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, 

and Mr. DELAHUNT) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations 

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the United States should adopt a global strategy to respond to the current coffee crisis, and for other purposes.

Whereas since 1997 the price of coffee has declined nearly 70 

percent on the world market and has recently reached its 

lowest level in a century; 

Whereas the collapse of coffee prices has resulted in a widespread humanitarian crisis for 25,000,000 coffee growers 

and for more than 50 developing countries where coffee 

is a critical source of rural employment and foreign exchange earnings; 
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•HRES 604 IH 

Whereas, according to a recent World Bank report, 600,000 

permanent and temporary coffee workers in Central 

America have been left unemployed in the last two years; 

Whereas the World Bank has referred to the coffee crisis as 

‘‘the silent Mitch’’, equating the impact of record-low coffee prices upon Central American countries with the 

damage done to such countries by Hurricane Mitch in 

1998; 

Whereas 6 of 14 immigrants who died in the Arizona desert 

in May 2001 were small coffee farmers from Veracruz, 

Mexico; 

Whereas The Washington Post, The New York Times, and 

The Wall Street Journal report that cultivation of illicit 

crops such as coca and opium poppy is increasing in traditional coffee-growing countries, such as Colombia and 

Peru, which have been adversely affected by low international coffee prices; 

Whereas the economies of some of the poorest countries in 

the world, particularly those in Africa, are highly dependent on trade in coffee; 

Whereas coffee accounts for approximately 80 percent of export revenues for Burundi, 54 percent of export revenues 

for Ethiopia, 34 percent of export revenues for Uganda, 

and 31 percent of export revenues for Rwanda; 

Whereas, according to the Oxfam International Report 

‘‘Mugged: Poverty in your Coffee Cup’’, in the Dak Lak 

province of Vietnam, one of the lowest-cost coffee producers in the world, the price farmers receive for their 

product covers as little as 60 percent of their costs of 

production and the income derived by the worst-off farm-
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•HRES 604 IH 

ers in that region is categorized as ‘‘pre-starvation’’ income; 

Whereas on February 1, 2002, the International Coffee Organization (ICO) passed Resolution 407; 

Whereas Resolution 407 calls for exporting member countries 

to observe minimum standards for exportable coffee and 

provide for the issuance of ICO certificates of origin according to those standards; 

Whereas ICO Resolution 407 calls on importing member 

countries to ‘‘make their best endeavors to support the 

objectives of the programme’’; 

Whereas both the Specialty Coffee Association of America 

(SCAA) and the National Coffee Association (NCA) support ICO Resolution 407 and have publicly advocated for 

the United States to rejoin the International Coffee Organization; 

Whereas on July 24, 2002, the Subcommittee on the Western 

Hemisphere of the Committee on International Relations 

of the House of Representatives held a hearing on the 

coffee crisis in the Western Hemisphere; 

Whereas the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has already established coffee sector assistance programs for Colombia, Bolivia, the Dominican 

Republic, East Timor, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, 

Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Rwanda, 

Tanzania, and Uganda; and 

Whereas the report accompanying the Foreign Operations, 

Export Financing, and Related Programs Appropriations 

Bill, 2003 (House Report 107–663), highlights the coffee 

price crisis as a global issue and ‘‘urges USAID to focus 

its rural development and relief programs on regions se-
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•HRES 604 IH 

verely affected by the coffee crisis, especially in Colombia’’: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved, That—

2 (1) it is the sense of the House of Representa3 tives that—

4 (A) the United States should adopt a glob5 al strategy to respond to the coffee crisis with 

6 coordinated activities in Latin America, Africa, 

7 and Asia to address the short-term humani8 tarian needs and long-term rural development 

9 needs of countries adversely affected by the col10 lapse of coffee prices; and 

11 (B) the President should explore measures 

12 to support and complement multilateral efforts 

13 to respond to the global coffee crisis; and 

14 (2) the House of Representatives urges private 

15 sector coffee buyers and roasters to work with the 

16 United States Government to find a solution to the 

17 crisis which is economically, socially, and environ18 mentally sustainable for all interested parties, and 

19 that will address the fundamental problem of over20 supply in the world coffee market.

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