Starbucks Against Ethiopia
    By Eric Leser
    Le Monde

    Thursday 14 December 2006

    Coffee is by far Ethiopia's main resource. It represents between 40 and 60 percent of the country's exports and assures the survival of about 15 million people, essentially the families of poor farmers. In an attempt to increase its income and protect itself from the catastrophic collapse of prices, like the one that took place between 2000 and 2003, Addis Ababa is trying to register the brand names for the regions where its most well-known coffees - Sidamo, Yirgacheffe, and Harar - are produced, much the way cognac or Roquefort are registered.

    But Ethiopia runs up against Starbucks. The multinational makes liberal use of Ethiopian names to sell its beverages and does not want to hear about paying for trademarks. Oxfam, the English organization that preaches fair trade, has accused the American group for months of depriving Ethiopian farmers of at least $90 million of additional income per year. "Harar and Sidamo coffees are sold for as much as $24 to $26 a pound by Starbucks. The farmers who grow them receive between 60 cents and $1.10 per pound," explains Oxfam's Seth Petchers.

    Ethiopia's first attempt to protect the Sidamo brand goes back to March 2005. The file submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) was ultimately rejected. Starbucks had previously tried to register a brand including the word Sidamo. The campaign led by Oxfam has nonetheless forced Starbucks to change strategy and hide behind the National Coffee Association (NCA). In order to reject the Ethiopian request, the USPTO cited the NCA, asserting that regional names are "generic."

    Addis Ababa has until the end of the month to make an appeal and will undoubtedly do so. But the country vitally needs to sell its coffee. The Ethiopian government has offered Starbucks a free license in exchange for a registered brand. Eleven American coffee distributors have already agreed to the proposition. Two weeks ago, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi met with Starbucks boss Jim Donald. But the latter remains unyielding.

    The American group proposes a geographic certification of Ethiopian coffees similar to the appellations controles of French wines, Florida orange juice or Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. While Ethiopian farmers often obtain less than 5 percent of their product's final sale price, those of Jamaica get as much as 45 percent. The American authorities are suggesting that certification brings transparency to the system and that the additional revenue really will end up in the farmers' pockets.