Small Growers Policy
What is direct purchasing?
Direct purchasing by Douwe Egberts means that the coffee is bought directly from growers' cooperatives, and not from exporters or via the international coffee trade. This way a number of middlemen are cut out.
 Basic considerations for direct purchasing
Douwe Egberts chooses to incorporate directly-purchased coffee in all its blends. This guarantees a consistency of flavour and quality which the consumer has come to expect of Douwe Egberts. There is, therefore, no separate brand for coffee which has been sourced from small growers. One advantage of this is that Douwe Egberts is not limited in the amount of directly-purchased coffee it uses, since all of it can simply be incorporated into the existing product range.
In determining the price for coffee available for direct purchase, Douwe Egberts bases it on the current price of the world market.
Advantages
For the coffee grower, direct contact with Douwe Egberts has the following advantages:
- the grower receives a higher income for their coffee, because links in the normal purchasing chain are by-passed;
- the coffee grower sometimes gets a higher price for the coffee than is available on the world market, because this particular coffee has an added value for Douwe Egberts;
- the small grower can strengthen their market position by using to their advantage the information which they receive from Douwe Egberts concerning market demand, quality control and ways of avoiding price risks.
The ultimate implications of direct purchasing for the grower vary from country to country. This is a result of considerable differences in the way in which export, trade, transport and warehousing are controlled.
Sustainable coffee policy
As one of the leading coffee roasters in the world Douwe Egberts is aware of its responsibility for sustainable entrepreneurship and coffee farming. This means to search for a balance between a good social policy, caring for the environment and a healthy financial situation. Douwe Egberts directly supports projects in coffee growing countries to reduce detrimental environmental effects of coffee growing and to educate coffee farmers. Deforestation and the use of aggressive pesticides are some of the problems that occur in coffee growing nations. Two current projects:
Vietnam: Douwe Egberts and some partners have started an environment project in the province of Quang-Tri. The farmers are educated and supported in the responsible use of the soil, water and pesticides. They also receive instructions on how to successfully sell coffee to the international market.
Uganda: In cooperation with Plan International, Douwe Egberts supports a multi-year development project in the coffee district Luwero. Results are the installation of 15 water pumps, the planting of 13.000 trees and the construction of 2500 wood-saving ovens. Thousands of families were informed about modern agricultural methods, environmental care and energy saving.
Projects are now being planned in Peru and Brazil.
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