Major companies selling illegally grown coffee

COFFEE lovers around the globe are drinking coffee which was illegally grown inside one of the world’s most important national parks for highly endangered tigers, elephants and rhinos, according to an investigative report published yesterday.

Conservation organisation World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said that coming from Bukit Barisan Selatan (BBS) National Park in Sumatra, Indonesia, the illegally grown coffee is mixed by local traders with legal coffee beans and exported from Indonesia to companies such as Kraft Foods and Nestle.

The report “Gone in an Instant” states most of the companies buying the coffee were unaware of its illegal origins, based on the lack of regulation in the region.

Some companies denied any purchase of illegally grown coffee, while others are in talks with WWF on how to avoid purchases of the coffee and how to boost the production of sustainably grown coffee.

Nazir Foead, WWF-Indonesia’s Director of Policy and Corporate Engagement, said: “WWF doesn’t want to shut down the coffee industry in Lampung Province. But, we’re asking multinational coffee companies to implement rigorous chain-of-custody controls to ensure that they are no longer buying illegally grown coffee and we’re asking the Indonesian Government to better protect the park.”

The report recommends the park and local authorities prevent further encroachment into the park and develop regulations that prevent illegally grown coffee from infiltrating international trade.

WWF’s investigations found farmers were growing coffee on more than 45,000 hectares of park land, producing some 19,600 tons of coffee annually. Most wildlife has already abandoned those areas.