Case Studies

Significant labour rights violations were uncovered at the Pedreira farm in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The farm is owned by the family of Cooxupé president Carlos Augusto Rodrigues de Melo. Cooxupé is the world’s largest coffee cooperative, and supplies major international brands like Starbucks and Nespresso. Workers at the Pedreira farm had up to 30% of their wages illegally deducted to pay for essential equipment, like portable coffee harvesting machines, which should legally have been provided by the employer free of charge. In 2021, an inspection revealed that 19 workers, who had migrated from the impoverished Jequitinhonha Valley, were affected by these illegal deductions. This violation occurred despite Cooxupé’s substantial profits, which nearly doubled to $61 million in 2020 on revenues of $1 billion. The Melo family subsequently agreed to return the deducted wages and pay each worker 2,000 reais ($370) as compensation for moral damages. This incident is part of a broader issue of labour exploitation in Brazil’s coffee industry. In 2020, 140 workers were rescued from slave-like conditions on coffee plantations in Minas Gerais. 

Keywords: Latin America, Brazil, coffee, primary production, forced labour, modern slavery

Source:  https://news.mongabay.com/2021/09/labor-rights-violations-at-brazil-coffee-farm-linked-to-starbucks-nespresso/ 

An industrial rubber project in Cameroon is now being condemned for causing the largest single rainforest destruction in Central Africa, according to Rainforest Foundation UK.  In a statement released in November 2018, the representatives from 21 surrounding villages denounced the effects of the Sud-Cameroun Hevea (Sudcam) project on the rights and livelihoods. Established in 2008, Sudcam was granted nearly 60,000 hectares of forest without conducting an environmental impact assessment or consulting the numerous communities affected. Such extensive land clearing has severely affected local and indigenous Baka communities. Approximately 30 communities rely on the area granted to Sudcam for hunting, fishing, farming, and collecting forest products. Large-scale rainforest destruction in the area therefore poses a significant threat to local livelihoods. In addition, in 2015, three indigenous Baka communities living in the forest were forcibly evicted to make way for the plantation. Around 120 people were forced to seek shelter in neighbouring Bantu villages, where they now live in poor conditions and face severe discrimination and human rights abuses. To date, none of these individuals have received any compensation for their lost livelihoods. 

Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, Cameroon, rubber, primary production, Indigenous rights violations, land grabbing, deforestation

Sources:  https://www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/cameroon-communities-speak-out-about-impacts-of-large-rubber-plantation/ 

The Verité report on coffee in Africa examines the challenges and issues within the coffee supply chain, focusing on labour rights and social responsibility. It highlights widespread issues such as child labour, forced labour, and poor working conditions among coffee workers across several African countries. These problems are exacerbated by factors like poverty, lack of education, and inadequate labour protections. The report identifies key areas for improvement, including enhancing transparency and accountability throughout the supply chain, strengthening labor laws and enforcement mechanisms, and promoting responsible sourcing practices among coffee buyers and exporters.

Verité calls for concerted efforts to address systemic issues in the coffee sector, ensuring that economic growth benefits all stakeholders fairly and sustainably.

Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, Cameroon, coffee, primary production, forced labour, labour rights violations, child labour

Source: https://verite.org/africa/explore-by-commodity/coffee/

A report by the Colombian Centro de Estudios Regionales Cafeteros Y Empresariales details the extent of child labour in Colombia’s coffee sector. Colombia's coffee zone covers 22 of 32 departments, with significant small-scale, traditional production. Child labour is allegedly prevalent in these zones due to familial economic needs, despite the national regulatory framework which includes international conventions and laws aimed at protecting young workers. The report finds that while most children in coffee-growing households attend school, attendance rates decline with age. Children and adolescents are involved in various coffee-related activities such as harvesting, carrying food, and processing coffee. According to the report, most children explain that their involvement in coffee activities does not interfere with their rights. However, some do mention reduced free time and fewer social interactions. There are also several safety concerns associated with specific tasks, particularly those involving machinery or harmful chemicals. Approximately 13.2% of surveyed children are engaged in child labour, primarily in hazardous activities like handling machinery or chemicals. These tasks pose significant risks to their health and safety. 

Keywords: Latin America, Colombia, coffee, primary production, child labour

Sources:  https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/Gayar.Arwa.T%40dol.gov/AN5F2E~1.PDF 

According to Reuters, in May 2024, the Ivory Coast's Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) suspended around 40 cooperatives. These cooperatives were accused of hoarding cocoa beans with the intention of selling them at inflated prices, amidst a national supply shortage caused by adverse weather conditions and the spread of cocoa diseases. It is reported that these cooperatives and some independent buyers had stockpiled over 60,000 metric tons of cocoa since the mid-crop season began. This practice, though not illegal in itself, became problematic when it was used to drive up prices unfairly. While the official farmgate price was set at 1,500 CFA francs ($2.50) per kilogram, some cooperatives were demanding between 1,600 and 1,800 CFA francs at the ports of Abidjan and San Pedro. In response to these practices, the CCC suspended the trading activities of the implicated cooperatives and buyers, in order to stabilise the domestic market and prevent smaller exporters from being outcompeted by larger multinational companies willing to pay higher prices. While the CCC’s actions were largely supported by exporters, Reuters reports that the situation revealed underlying tensions within the cocoa supply chain.  

Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, cocoa

Sources:  https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ivory-coasts-cocoa-regulator-suspends-cooperatives-hoarding-beans-sources-say-2024-05-17/ 

Ivory Coast’s market regulator, under the leadership of Yves Brahima Kone, is planning to introduce measures to curb fraud related to fair-trade certified cocoa contracts. The Coffee and Cocoa Council (CCC) suspended sales of fair-trade certified contracts after recording an exponential increase in certified cocoa. Buyers and co-operatives have been using this program to push multinational companies into overpaying. To combat fraudulent contracts, the regulator is considering limiting the number of cocoa buyers to 30 from over a thousand. Next year, Ivory Coast will introduce a new certification and traceability system to align with European regulations on the import of commodities linked to deforestation. 

Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, cocoa, fairtrade fraud, deforestation

Source: Ivory Coast's regulator weighs options against fraudulent cocoa certification (timeslive.co.za)  

The Verité report on coffee in Africa examines the challenges and issues within the coffee supply chain, focusing on labour rights and social responsibility. It highlights widespread issues such as child labour, forced labour, and poor working conditions among coffee workers across several African countries. These problems are exacerbated by factors like poverty, lack of education, and inadequate labour protections. The report identifies key areas for improvement, including enhancing transparency and accountability throughout the supply chain, strengthening labor laws and enforcement mechanisms, and promoting responsible sourcing practices among coffee buyers and exporters.

Verité calls for concerted efforts to address systemic issues in the coffee sector, ensuring that economic growth benefits all stakeholders fairly and sustainably.

Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, coffee, primary production, labour rights violations, child labour, forced labour

Source: https://verite.org/africa/explore-by-commodity/coffee/

The Verité report on coffee in Africa examines the challenges and issues within the coffee supply chain, focusing on labour rights and social responsibility. It highlights widespread issues such as child labour, forced labour, and poor working conditions among coffee workers across several African countries. These problems are exacerbated by factors like poverty, lack of education, and inadequate labour protections. The report identifies key areas for improvement, including enhancing transparency and accountability throughout the supply chain, strengthening labor laws and enforcement mechanisms, and promoting responsible sourcing practices among coffee buyers and exporters.

Verité calls for concerted efforts to address systemic issues in the coffee sector, ensuring that economic growth benefits all stakeholders fairly and sustainably.

Keywords: Sub-Saharan Africa, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, coffee, primary production, labour rights violations, forced labour, child labour

Source: https://verite.org/africa/explore-by-commodity/coffee/

In an article by Presna Libre, it is reported that Miguel Ángel Turcios Pineda is facing a legal process for money laundering in the case known as Fedecocagua, which involves a structure for laundering Q1 billion. The Public Ministry (MP) reported that Turcios Pineda will face trial as part of phase 2 of the Fedecocagua case. He was granted a substitute measure and the payment of a Q200,000 bail. The investigation by the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (Feci) of the MP indicated that in the first phase of the case, the manager of the Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives of Coffee Producers of Guatemala (Fedecocagua), Ulrich Gurtner Kappeler, was also arrested for money laundering. It was determined that a series of non-existent companies were generating invoices and through which the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) returned the Value Added Tax that they had obtained at the time. It was referred that more than Q1 billion were benefited by these companies. It was established that Fedecocagua directors simulated coffee purchase and sale operations using front companies, who invoiced the coffee that the cooperatives and small producers delivered to Fedecocagua, who in turn simulated the payment of invoices, money that later returned to accounts through a series of transfers.

Keywords: Latin America, Guatemala, coffee, primary production, tax evasion, money laundering

Source: https://www.prensalibre.com/guatemala/justicia/caso-fedecocagua-miguel-angel-turcios-pineda-enfrenara-proceso-judicial-por-lavado-de-dinero-breaking/

In March 2020, the news organisation Channel 4uncovered child labour on coffee farms in Guatemala. The investigated farms were found to be supplying beans to international giant's Starbucks and Nespresso. The investigation revealed children as young as eight working up to 40-hour weeks in harsh conditions, earning as little as £5 a day. These children were paid based on the weight of coffee beans they picked, with sacks weighing up to 45kg. Both Starbucks and Nespresso, part of Nestlé, faced criticism and legal scrutiny for allegedly violating international labour standards set by the U.N.'s International Labour Organisation. Despite such claims, child labour persisted across farms used by Starbucks until 2019. Starbucks responded with a full investigation and confirmed no recent purchases from implicated farms, while Nespresso suspended purchases pending its own investigation. Both companies expressed zero tolerance for child labour but acknowledged the need for further improvement in their supply chain oversight. 

Keywords: Latin America, Guatemala, coffee, primary production, child labour

Sources: https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/guatemala-children-as-young-as-eight-picked-coffee-beans-on-farms-supplying-starbucks/