ICO and SCA Sign MoU in Support of Global Coffee Industry

The top brass of the International Coffee Organization and the Specialty Coffee Association convened on Dec. 1 to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlining the organizations’ shared commitments to the global coffee industry.

According to the UK-based ICO — whose membership comprises the majority of the world’s coffee-producing countries —  the MoU represents a “dynamic partnership” that will “set out to design and implement interventions that will benefit coffee stakeholders worldwide through knowledge-sharing, education, and capacity building.”

“Under the MoU, both organizations pledge to create training programs and foster skill development across diverse segments of the coffee value chain — from production and trade to roasting, brewing, and preparation methods,” the ICO and SCA jointly stated.

With dual headquarters in the UK and United States, the SCA is the largest coffee industry trade organization in the world.

“Today’s signature marks a significant stride towards sustainability by creating new opportunities for knowledge transfer across the coffee sector,” SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos said in the Dec. 1 announcement. “The SCA is committed to supporting institutions, organizations, and platforms in the coffee sector who are dedicated to building an equitable and sustainable industry, and the association believes that collaborative and diverse approaches, like this partnership with the ICO, will play a crucial role in making the rewards of the specialty coffee segment accessible worldwide.”

The ICO, meanwhile, has maintained a focus on forging private-sector partnerships since the group formally updated the 61-year-old International Coffee Agreement last year. The Agreement, which until 1990 was overseen by the ICO to regulate production quotas for international market stability, now calls for increased participation with the private sector.

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