Abstract
Mexican coffee growers have been negatively affected by low world coffee prices coupled with reduced government support. One response by coffee farmers has been increasing migration to the US. Another response by some cooperatives has been to differentiate their coffee by certifying it as environmentally sustainable, organic, and/or Fair Trade. This paper examines the links among low coffee prices, migration, and certified coffee production and trade, drawing on a 2004 case study conducted in Oaxaca, Mexico. Although remittances from migrants help finance coffee production, increased migration drains human capital out of the region, which raises the opportunity cost of labor and hence local wages. In this sense, coffee growers who migrate to the US, partly to provide operating capital for coffee, undermine coffee production by raising its costs. The findings raise doubts about the sustainability of the Fair Trade-organic coffee model in the face of migration opportunities. A Chinese version of this article's abstract is available online at: www.informaworld.com/rglo
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