ofi reaffirms commitment to a more resilient coffee supply chain in face of rising market volatility

Since the launch of these targets in October 2020, coffee prices have recovered from a four-year low to reach record highs. However, Vivek Verma, CEO Coffee at ofi points out that this will only offer temporary respite to the world’s 12.5m smallholders and is therefore a compelling reason to maintain focus on scaling up action:

“The already ‘better off’ farmers with larger farms are those that stand to benefit most from periods of high prices. Meanwhile, the increasing volatility of the coffee price cycle that we’ve witnessed for over 40 years, combined with the impacts of climate change, are raising questions over the viability of smallholder coffee production.

“Coffee LENS is challenging us to do more to contribute to a fairer, more resilient coffee future, while continuing to deliver high-quality sustainable ingredients to our roasters and manufacturing customers.”

The report also shares other key milestones including the introduction of a digital child labor monitoring and remediation system (CLMRS), planting 2 million trees to promote regenerative agriculture, rejuvenating soils across land equivalent to 11,000 football fields, and the ability to offer customers verified traceability for 100% of its directly sourced coffee. The data collected by ofi at farm level, feeds into the sustainability insights platform AtSource, providing customers with the social and environmental footprint of their coffee purchases, which then informs continuous improvement programs.

Verma continues: “The level of data and insight we now have at our fingertips helps us identify how and where to act with our partners. Now, we need to bring in more partners – from industry, governments, and NGOs - to our existing programs to scale up impact. I’m confident that together, we can build on what we’ve achieved to deliver our longer-term goals while supporting our purpose to be the change for good food and a healthy future.” 

Erica Kostense-Smit, Rainforest Alliance, added: “We welcome the public commitments ofi has set for its coffee business. Big businesses have the power and resources to implement sustainability solutions on a massive scale - catalyzing positive change for critically important landscapes and the livelihoods for millions of rural people. We invite ofi to continue the journey with Rainforest Alliance towards a world where people and nature thrive together.”

About ofi

ofi (olam food ingredients) is a new operating group born out of Olam. ofi offers sustainable, natural, value-added food products and ingredients so that consumers can enjoy the healthy and indulgent products they love. It consists of industry-leading businesses of cocoa, coffee, dairy, nuts, and spices. ofi has built a unique global value chain presence including its own farming operations, farm-gate origination, and manufacturing facilities. ofi partners with customers, leveraging its complementary and differentiated portfolio of ‘on-trend’ food products, to co-create solutions that anticipate and meet changing consumer preferences as demand increases for healthier food that’s traceable and sustainable. To subscribe to the ofi newsroom, please visit www.ofi.com (privacy statement here). If you do not wish to receive information from ofi please contact media@ofi.com. Follow @ofi-group on LinkedIn.

About Olam

Olam is a leading food and agri-business supplying food, ingredients, feed and fiber to 17,300 customers worldwide. Its value chain spans over 60 countries and includes farming, processing and distribution operations, as well as a sourcing network of an estimated 5 million farmers. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, Olam currently ranks among the top 30 largest primary listed companies in terms of market capitalization on SGX-ST. Since June 2020, Olam has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series, a global sustainable investment index series developed by FTSE Russell, following a rigorous assessment of Olam’s supply chain activities, impact on the environment and governance transparency. The FTSE4Good Index Series identifies companies that demonstrate strong Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices and is used by a variety of market participants to create and assess responsible investment funds. More information on Olam can be found at www.olamgroup.com. To subscribe to the Olam Newsroom please visit www.olamgroup.com and read the Privacy statement here. If you do not wish to receive information from Olam, please contact media@olamnet.com.