New Geography in Action Junior Cycle Geography Protectionism
Developed countries look after their own needs and profits. They put high taxes on the importation of processed coffee. This makes it difficult for developing countries to make a profit from processing the coffee themselves. Developed countries often use other methods to make it difficult too. For example, when Brazil started to process its own coffee the USA threatened to stop giving it aid.
Dependency
Some developing countries can have an over-dependency on coffee production because it is such an important crop to the country’s economy. As a result of this dependency, the failure of a coffee bean crop can lead to huge poverty in the country.
: Figure 20.12 Coffee consumption in Ireland
Solutions to economic inequality
Solutions are needed to balance the economic inequality between the developed countries of the North and the developing countries of the South. Here are some possible solutions. Fair trade
People in the developing world should receive a fair price for their produce. Taxes on goods imported from developing countries should be abolished. Multinational companies must stop the exploitation of workers, the use of child labour and the payment of low wages in developing countries. Then the people in developing countries would have money for vital services and for development.
Fairtrade is an international movement which gives farmers a better deal. When they sell goods on fair trade terms they get a better price, which allows them to improve their lives. If you buy a product with the Fairtrade logo, you know that the farmers who produced it got a better price for it.
