The International Coffee Organization provides a forum for the representatives of exporting and importing Member countries to meet and work together to ensure the smooth functioning of the International Coffee Agreement. It functions through the International Coffee Council, the Executive Board, the Private Sector Consultative Board, the Executive Director and the staff of the Secretariat.  

Organogram

• Approval of the annual programme of activities and budget
• Admission or suspension of Members
• Settlement of disputes
• Matters concerning the extension or termination of the Agreement.

The Council generally meets twice a year, in May and September. Council sessions enable delegates to have high-level contacts and meetings with other governments and with major players in the global coffee industry. Representatives come from government Ministries, Embassies in London, and Coffee Boards and Federations, supported by alternates from industry and other advisers. Countries that are not Members of the Organization and intergovernmental organizations with a significant interest in coffee are invited to participate as observers.

The most recent ICO statistics are presented and the latest report on the coffee market is discussed. Information on coffee policy is delivered by experts or top government and industry representatives, and substantive matters such as sustainability and phytosanitary matters may be considered.

Decisions are usually reached on the basis of consensus. This is important so that the measures which are adopted by the Council which can have a major impact on coffee, such as projects, avoid confrontation on sensitive issues and achieve as much support and acceptance of the decisions ultimately made.

In addition to the range of matters dealt with as provided under the Agreement or annual programmes of activities, consultations have taken place in particular on the following subjects:

• Rules of origin on coffee in the World Trade Organization
• European coffee contracts; and
• Issues related to contamination arising from mould formation

Raising these matters has increased awareness of the issues involved and in some cases led to action to resolve problems, such as the approval by the Common Fund for Commodities of the project to prevent mould formation, and an informal group established to provide a liaison mechanism between representatives of the European Coffee Federation and exporting countries.

Voting system

The voting system requires a simple majority vote or a distributed two thirds majority vote (requiring a two thirds majority of each category of Members) in the case of matters such as amendments to the Agreement.  Exporting Members hold 1,000 votes, and importing Members hold 1,000 votes. Each Member holds five basic votes, and the remaining votes are distributed among each category of Members in proportion to the average volume of their exports or imports of coffee in the preceding four calendar years. The Council determines the distribution of votes at the start of each coffee year (October), and whenever there is a change in membership, or voting rights of a Member are suspended, the votes are redistributed.

Executive Board and committees

Under the Council is the Executive Board composed of 16 Members (eight exporting and eight importing countries) who are elected annually and who oversee the current operations. Other specialist committees such as the Promotion Committee, the Statistics Committee and the Finance Committee meet on a regular basis to look at key areas of work.

Private Sector Consultative Board (PSCB)

The PSCB is composed of 16 leading industry representatives from producing and consuming countries. It acts in a consultative and advisory capacity to the Council on matters of concern to the world coffee industry. It was established in 1999 and meets at the time of the Council. Priority areas for its long-term Agenda include:

• Positive communication on coffee
• Sustainable development
• Food safety

Statistics Committee

The Statistics Committee was established in 1999 and makes recommendations on statistical matters including:

• certificates of Origin;
• trade statistics;
• information on new segments of the market;
• indicator prices;
• verification of stocks;
• compliance by Members in providing statistical information; and 
• evaluation of technical definitions.

Executive Director

The Executive Director is appointed by the Council, and is responsible to the Council for the administration and operation of the Agreement. The present Executive Director is Mr. Néstor Osorio, a Colombian national, who took up office on 1 March 2002.  In May 2007, the International Coffee Council unanimously decided to extend his term of office for a further five years until September 2012.

Secretariat

Directly under the Executive Director are the Head of Operations and the Head of Finance and Administration, who are responsible for areas of work such as Statistics, Information, Projects, and Finance. Within each of these areas, an international professional staff comprising economists, statisticians and support personnel are responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the programme of activities.

Rules of Procedure/ policies and priorities:  Please see our documents area