World’s leading coffee guide launches French edition in Togo

(Lomé) – The International Trade Centre (ITC), through its Alliances for Action initiative, today unveils in Lomé, Togo, the French translation of the fourth edition of the world’s most comprehensive, practical source for the international coffee trade, The Coffee Guide.

This new edition updates the latest trends of the last decade, especially for quality, digitalization, climate change, finance and risk and consumer preferences. It presents fresh industry data that classify production and consumption numbers by coffee quality segment (standard, premium and specialized) rather than the traditional Arabica/Robusta classification of data.

This guide is designed to be a practical tool for producers, exporters and other value chain stakeholders to support a positive transformation of the sector. It can be accessed globally and free of charge. It builds on collaboration with more than 70 coffee industry actors from across the globe, from seed to cup, to chart a path towards a more sustainable future for the industry. A focus on sustainability, inclusiveness and partnerships steer its content.

The French translation is a first in the history of the Coffee Guide and pays tribute to all coffee sector stakeholders across francophone Africa who wish to learn about and develop their knowledge in this environment.

The translation was facilitated thanks to the support of ACRAM, the European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). The EU and the OACPS jointly finance the 'ACP Business-Friendly' programme, which is implemented by ITC’s Alliances for Action sustainable agribusiness initiative, and which is also responsible for leading the production of the Coffee Guide.

The book will soon be translated into Spanish and Portuguese to address coffee stakeholders worldwide.

Setting Africa’s Robusta coffee sector up for success

The guide focuses on Robusta coffee, which was first discovered in West Africa in the 1800s.  Today, Robusta accounts for a whopping 30%-40% of total world coffee production. Uganda, Côte d’Ivoire and Madagascar are ranked three of the world’s top 10 Robusta producing countries.

An estimated 6.9 million coffee farms contribute to livelihoods across Africa. Developing Robusta could be a milestone for the coffee industry: The combination of climate change resilience, cup quality and productivity represents huge potential for return on investment.

To further develop intra-African trade by promoting the consumption and creating domestic markets, ITC has formed an alliance with the African and Malagasy Robusta Coffee Agency (ACRAM). 

ACRAM is an international non-profit association bringing together private and public operators to promote Robusta coffees from Africa and Madagascar, thereby improving incomes and living conditions of producers, researching and conceptualizing endogenous development models and supporting African and Malagasy operators.

Under the ‘ACP Business-Friendly’ programme jointly funded by the European Union (EU) and the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), ITC’s Alliances for Action sustainable agribusiness initiative and ACRAM have joined forces to boost African Robusta through local value addition, environmental sustainability and a focus on youth.

Download The Coffee Guide in French - The Coffee Guide, Fourth Edition (French edition)

Note to the Editor

About ITC - The International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. ITC assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become more competitive in global markets, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development within the frameworks of the Aid-for-Trade agenda and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Its Alliances for Action initiative leverages partnerships for sustainable food systems. It does this through partnerships that cultivate ethical, climate-smart, sustainable agricultural value chains. This guide is aligned with its collaborative approach and objective of a sustainable transformation of global food systems.

For more information about ITC, visit www.intracen.org.

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For more information, contact:

Giulia Macola

International Trade Centre, Alliances for Action

Email: alliances [at] intracen.org

Tel: + 41 22 730 0626