With me today is Neil. Hello, Rob. In this programme, we're going to be talking about coffee. Mmm, coffee. I've actually实际上 got one here in front of me, Rob. All right. What kind of coffee are you drinking? It's a skinny latte. And what's that that you've got? Well, I've gone for a flat white today. Mmm, that tastes good. Mmm, looks good too. The market for the world's most popular drink has come a long way since the days of instant coffee, when we just added boiling water to some brown powder粉末.
Yes, that's very true, Neil. After that came the giants like Starbucks and Costa Coffee, who made coffee drinking trendy and a lifestyle statement. People are far more aware知道的 of what they're drinking these days. Mmm, but, Rob, I don't think we should forget what lies behind the coffee we enjoy every day. It's a hugely巨大地 complicated复杂的 business. Yes, it's the second biggest commodity日用品 in the world after oil. That means the price of coffee is changing every day, every hour even, as traders商人 speculate推测 about the price.
And it means farmers in countries like Ethiopia, Costa Rica and Brazil are dependent依靠的 on the deals买卖 that are made in commodity日用品 markets thousands of miles from their farms. It makes them extremely vulnerable易受攻击的. Let's listen to food journalist记者 Sheila Dillon as she explains the impact影响 of coffee markets on local growers种植者. She uses an expression that means 'has a big effect'. Can you tell me what it is? What happens in the coffee market makes waves around the globe.
Entire national economies经济 depend on the price of coffee. It's the key to whether individual个别的 farmers can provide for their families, face unemployment失业, and ultimately最后 whether whole communities stay on the land or trek艰苦跋涉 to the cities. She said 'makes waves'. This means 'have a big effect'. She also used the expression 'provide for their families'. This means the farmer's family have enough income收入 to live comfortably舒服地. Good, right, so what about our quiz question today? Neil, do you know how many cups of coffee are drunk醉的 worldwide each year?
Is it a) 38 billion, 400 billion 950 billion? Well, it's going to be a huge巨大的 number of course, but I still think I'll go for the lowest figure数字, which is 38 billion. OK, well, we'll see if you've got the answer right at the end of the programme. Now, the price of coffee has soared高飞, that means gone up quickly in recent years, Rob. Surely当然 that's good for everyone involved包含 in the business. I believe the profit益处 margins页边的空白 for coffee are amongst the highest in the world.
I can't see what all the fuss忙乱 is about. Well, Neil, just because the price is high, it doesn't mean that everyone benefits有益于. It all depends on how the profits益处 are distributed分发. You see there are countless无数的 transactions办理 between the grower种植者 and the drinker. A grower种植者 can have a really good crop, but the amount he makes stays the same, or can even fall. I see the problem. I expect most of the profits益处 go to the commodity日用品 traders商人 and very little to the individual个别的 growers种植者 of the bean.
It sounds like the growers种植者 have no control. That's what happens in other agricultural农业的 sectors部门. I'm afraid so. Of course, some people are trying to distribute分发 the profits益处 more widely, and they have been having some success. Yes, I heard about some small-scale刻度 projects where the company takes charge of the whole process过程 from field to shop. Yes, these organisations tend趋向 to farm organically器官上地. This is very labour-intensive加强的. That means a lot of people are employed雇用, and it creates a lot of jobs for people within the local community.
Anyway, they're not victims受害人 of market fluctuations起伏. Let's listen to Leo Vimani, who runs a small plantation种植园 like this in Costa Rica. What's the verb he uses for putting the coffee in a box before selling it? For our plantation种植园, the approach靠近 we have is to go through every step of the process过程. We grow it, we pick it, we process加工 it in the mill磨坊, then eventually终于 we'll roast it, we'll package打包 it, and we sell it. It's a small plantation种植园 we are, and that would allow us to stay or be profitable有利可图的 at the end of the day.
So he used the verb 'package包裹', which means put a product in a packet or box before selling it. And he said his community can stay profitable有利可图的. This means they can always maintain维持 profits益处 or make money. Well, it's good to know that small growers种植者 can live reasonably有理地 comfortably舒服地, despite what the world markets are doing. The next time I grab a takeaway coffee, I'll try to remember all the politics involved包含 in the production生产 process过程. Yes, me too. So, shall we have the answer to the quiz question now?
Yes. You ask me how many cups of coffee are drunk醉的 worldwide each year? 38 billion? 400 billion? Or 950 billion? And I guessed 38 billion. I'm afraid. You're wrong. The answer is actually实际上 400 billion. No way. That's incredible难以置信的. Yes, it's an extraordinary非凡的 statistic统计数值. Well, we're almost out of time, so let's remind ourselves of some of the words we've said today, Neil. Commodity日用品, speculate推测, fluctuations起伏, vulnerable易受攻击的, make waves, provides for labour-intensive加强的, package包裹, profitable有利可图的. Well, that's it for today.