The 1962 International Coffee Agreement: Past, Present and Future

Abstract

<p>This thesis (1) considers the need for the 1962 International Coffee Agreement in light of the post-World War II developments in the world coffee market and (2) discusses the usefulness of the agreement since 1962 in attaining its stated goals and coping with the difficulties which have emerged since 1962. The thesis starts with the nature of, and role played by commodity agreements both prior to and after World War II. The changing role of commodity agreements, from that of foreign exchange stabilization to that of upholding the foreign exchange earnings, is also discussed. Post-war difficulties in the coffee market which lead to a series of Latin American producer agreements and eventually to the 1962 Agreement is then illuminated. More recent developments and difficulties faced by the coffee industry are also cited.</p> <p>The thesis concludes that a diversification from coffee and into other products in the coffee-growing countries of the world can only come about through commodity agreements. Because of the inherent structural problems in these countries, the interplay of free-market forces cannot lend itself to a suitable transformation.</p>