Fairtrade International Raises Price Minimums Again

Sacks of coffee at a Fairtrade-certified coffee production facility. Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.

Fairtrade International is raising its minimum prices for certified coffee for the second time in less than four years, arguing that rising production costs and volatile markets require a stronger safety net, even after a long stretch of relatively high commodity coffee prices.

New Minimums

Beginning Dec. 1, the new Fairtrade Minimum Price for conventional washed arabica green coffee will be US$2.00 per pound, up 20 cents from the current $1.80. Fairtrade International said washed arabica represents more than 80% of all Fairtrade coffee sold.

The minimum for natural-process arabica will rise 20 cents to $1.95 per pound, while washed robusta will rise 10 cents to $1.35 and natural-process robusta will rise 10 cents to $1.30. The Fairtrade Premium will remain 20 cents per pound, while the organic differential will remain 40 cents per pound.

The move comes as coffee futures have been relatively high for much of the past two years. In an announcement of the new minimums, Fairtrade noted that the New York C arabica price has not fallen below $2.00 per pound since March 2024, meaning the new washed arabica floor would not have been triggered.

Fairtrade instead framed the increase as protection for the next downturn in what has historically been a volatile market that exposes smallholder producers to the most risk. 

The new prices apply to contracts signed on or after Dec. 1, 2026. For price-to-be-fixed contracts signed before that date, the previous Fairtrade prices remain in effect even if the price is fixed after Dec. 1, according to a Fairtrade FAQ.

Price Review

Fairtrade said the decision followed a yearlong review that included production-cost data from 57 cooperatives in 13 countries, plus a consultation process that drew 610 responses, including 467 from producers and 117 from commercial partners. The final decision was made by Fairtrade’s Standards Committee, a multi-stakeholder body that includes farmer and commercial representation.

“Fairtrade’s price review process is unique in the coffee sector, as the only methodology that provides an essential understanding of the various stakeholders in the value chain — from farmer cooperatives to roasters to brands and retailers — as well as civil society pushing to create a thriving coffee system,” Fairtrade International Senior Advisor for Coffee Colleen Anunu said in the announcement.

The increase follows Fairtrade International’s historic 2023 price hike, which moved washed arabica from $1.40 to $1.80 per pound, while raising natural robusta to $1.20 and increasing the organic differential from 30 to 40 cents. It was the first time the organization had raised its floor prices for certified coffee since 2011. 

Minimums vs. Living Incomes

The new increase should not be confused with Fairtrade International’s Living Income Reference Price (LIRP) work. While the minimum price is a mandatory floor for Fairtrade contracts when market prices fall below it, Living Income Reference Prices are voluntary benchmarks pointing toward a decent standard of living.

Fairtrade has released LIRPs for numerous coffee-producing countries, and last year it launched a “LIRP on Demand” service for coffee companies. 

The new price floor also does not automatically apply across all fair trade-labeled coffee in the U.S. Fairtrade America is part of the Fairtrade International system, but the separate Oakland, California-based certifier Fair Trade USA operates its own Fair Trade Certified program, which has not mirrored Fairtrade’s recent price floor hikes. 

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