International Coffee Organization Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids International Coffee Organization Organización Internacional del Café (Spanish) Organização Internacional do Café (Portuguese) Organisation Internationale du Café (French)
Logo
ICO exporting members ICO importing members
Headquarters	London, WC1 United Kingdom
Official languages	English French Portuguese Spanish
Type	Trade bloc
Members	Exporting Angola Bolivia Brazil Burundi Cameroon Central African Republic Colombia Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Cuba Dem. Rep. Congo Ecuador El Salvador Ethiopia Gabon Ghana Guatemala Honduras India Indonesia Kenya Liberia Madagascar Malawi Mexico Nepal Nicaragua Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Rwanda Sierra Leone Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Uganda Vietnam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Importing European Union Japan Norway Russian Fed. Switzerland Tunisia United Kingdom
Leaders

• Executive director	Vanusia Nogueira

Establishment	1963; 62 years ago (1963)
Currency	Indexed as USD-per-lb

The International Coffee Organization (ICO) is a big group that helps countries around the world with coffee. It was started in 1963 in London. The United Nations (UN) helped set it up because coffee is so important for many countries' economies.

The ICO manages something called the International Coffee Agreement (ICA). This agreement helps countries work together on coffee trade. The ICA was first signed in 1962 in New York City. It helps keep coffee prices stable for both countries that grow coffee and countries that buy it.

The main goal of the ICO is to make the global coffee business stronger. They want to help it grow in a way that is good for everyone involved. This includes farmers, traders, and even people who drink coffee.

The ICO's main office is in London. Its current leader is Vanúsia Nogueira from Brazil. As of early 2022, countries that are members of the ICO produce 93% of the world's coffee. They also buy 63% of the world's coffee. The United States left the agreement in 2018.

What the ICO Does
How the ICO Works
Who Are the Members?
See also

What the ICO Does

The ICO acts like a supervisor for the coffee trade. It keeps an eye on how much coffee is grown and sold. Countries are divided into two groups: those that produce coffee and those that buy it. Each group gets half of the voting power in the ICO.

Brazil grows the most coffee, so it has the most votes among producing countries. The ICO helps by tracking how much coffee is exported and imported. It also used to manage a system where coffee-producing countries got special stamps. Countries that bought coffee agreed not to accept coffee without these stamps.

This system helped keep coffee prices fair. It also made sure that coffee growers received fair pay. By controlling how much coffee was produced, it helped keep conditions good for farm workers too.

How the ICO Works

The most important part of the ICO is the International Coffee Council. This council is made up of representatives from every member country. They meet twice a year, usually in March and September.

During these meetings, they talk about important coffee issues. They also approve plans and ideas from other groups within the ICO. All their big decisions are made when everyone agrees.

There are also other groups that help the ICO. The Finance and Administration Committee gives advice on money matters. This includes approving the ICO's budget and its yearly financial reports. Another group, the Joint Committee, handles topics like projects, statistics, and how to promote coffee.

Who Are the Members?

As of early 2022, the ICO has 42 countries that produce coffee and 7 countries or groups that buy coffee.

Exporting Member Countries

Importing Member Countries

Former Member Countries

Some countries have left the ICO over the years:

Turkey (left in 2017)
United States (left in 2018)
Paraguay (left in 2019)
Guatemala (left in 2020)
Uganda (left in 2022)

International Coffee Organization facts for kids

Contents

What the ICO Does

How the ICO Works

Who Are the Members?

See also