The Coffee Paradox : Zed Books : 9781842774571 : 1842774573 : 01 Nov 2005 : Can developing countries trade their way out of poverty? International trade has grown dramatically in the last two decades in the global economy, and trade is an important source of revenue in developing countries. Yet, many low-income countries have been producing and exporting tropical commodities for a long time. They are still poor. This book is a major analytical contribution to understanding commodity production and trade, as well as putting forward policy-relevant suggestions for 'solving' the commodity problem. Through the study of the global value chain for coffee, the authors recast the 'development problem' for countries relying on commodity exports in entirely new ways. They do so by analysing the so-called coffee paradox ? the coexistence of a 'coffee boom' in consuming countries and of a 'coffee crisis' in producing countries. New consumption patterns have emerged with the growing importance of