The International Trade
Centre (ITC) is showcasing the success of women in the coffee industry as part
of the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s
Day. The event on 8 March 2011 is hosted
by WTO and ITC at the WTO. Mr. Pascal
Lamy, WTO Director General; Ms. Micheline Calmy-Rey, President of the Swiss
Confederation; Ms. Sandrine Salerno, Mayor of Geneva; and Mr. Jean-Marie
Paugam, Deputy Executive Director of ITC will provide examples of women’s
contributions to growing international trade. The remarks will be followed by a
sampling of coffee grown by women engaged in an ITC project.
‘Women’s
contribution to export is vital,’ said Patricia R. Francis, Executive Director
of ITC. ‘There is great potential for consumers in developed county markets to
ensure benefits flow to women, their families and communities in developing
countries. ITC is supporting such an effort through linking African women
working in the coffee industry to new buyers and markets and also working with governments
and trade institutions to address persistent gender-based barriers to export
success.’
The
International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) is partnering with ITC in East
Africa to identify barriers to women’s success in the coffee sector. With the
local industry ITC and IWCA are providing training on how to access information
on prevailing market prices, good agricultural practices and negotiating skills
to address some of the barriers identified. ITC has also assisted IWCA to successfully
establish chapters in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
Currently
in the African coffee industry, women do 70% of the field work and harvesting,
but are only engaged in 10% of the in-country and international trade of the
product. There are approximately 25 million farmers and coffee workers in
over 50 countries involved in producing coffee around the world. This provides ITC with the opportunity to work
with the coffee sector both in terms of the high potential for export and human
development impact, particularly for women.
ITC is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the
United Nations. ITC enables SMEs in developing countries to become more
competitive in global markets, leading to sustainable economic development and
contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.