International Coffee Agreement 2007

The International Coffee Agreement 2007, the seventh Agreement since 1962, was agreed by the 77 Members of the International Coffee Council, meeting in London on 28 September 2007.  It was formally adopted by the Council through Resolution 431 and entered into force definitively on 2 February 2011. Membership comprises exporting and importing Governments (including the European Union with 27 member states), with six new Members (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen) among the Governments to have completed membership procedures of the 2007 Agreement to date.

The 2007 Agreement will strengthen the ICO’s role as a forum for intergovernmental consultations, facilitate international trade through increased transparency and access to relevant information, and promote a sustainable coffee economy for the benefit of all stakeholders and particularly of small-scale farmers in coffee producing countries.  It is an important instrument for development cooperation and will provide the legal framework for core activities undertaken by the Organization in the future.

Nineteen ICO Members are least-developed countries (with low incomes and high economic vulnerability), and there are more than 25 million small coffee farmers and their families who produce 70% of the world’s coffee and are particularly affected by fluctuations in market prices and imbalances in supply and demand. 

The Preamble specifically acknowledges the contribution of a sustainable coffee sector to the achievement of internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, particularly with respect to poverty eradication.   

Important innovations include a new Chapter on the development and funding of coffee development projects, and the establishment of a Consultative Forum on Coffee Sector Finance, responding to the need for increased access to information on topics related to finance and risk management in the coffee sector, with particular emphasis on the needs of small and medium-scale producers.   The range of statistical data will be expanded, enhancing market transparency, and a new Promotion and Market Development Committee will oversee activities including information campaigns, research, capacity-building and studies related to coffee production and consumption.

Depositary/membership

In January 2008, the Council designated the ICO as the Depositary of the 2007 Agreement.  Information on membership procedures, Depositary Notifications and relevant documents can be found on the Depositary/membership section.