Di Bella Coffee

Coffee millionaire Phillip Di Bella wants to make his view very clear. He doesnt support
child slavery () and exploitation () but he does support child labour in the
way in which he defines () it. I believe in children working on farms, he says. The
Brisbane-based entrepreneur () who has built one of Australias fastest-growing
coffee businesses and propelled () himself into the BRW Young Rich list knows he
is courting () controversy () as he speaks. He believes, however, that it is a
chance to challenge the accepted stance () that coffee roasters should avoid farms
that use children under 15 as labourers. He says it isnt a black and white issue and that in
developing nations those children bring in a legitimate () source of revenue for their
families.
He says that in countries such as Mexico, Peru and Colombia, communities ()
benefit from employing children from the age of 12 who would otherwise be exposed (
) to the drug trade (). Most farms 95 per cent of them employ adults.
And theyll only work children that are 15 or over, he says. However, some farms in
countries like Mexico, Peru and Colombia will allow kids from 12 to 15 during school
holidays and then when schools on, before or after school. They must be paid and the
parents get the money. He estimates () that on average, less than 1 per cent of the
workforce on these farms would be children under the legal age. These farms dont get
any particular benefit from employing kids, he says. Rather its part of a social support
program to allow kids to develop. Di Bella started sourcing () beans () from
farms that use child labour two years ago when he decided to cut out his brokers (
), ARC and Coffee & Nut Trading, and buy directly from farmers.
It makes business sense to ditch () the broker, he says, as it means he avoids hefty
() broker fees, which allows him to save up to 30 per cent on coffee purchased. He
claims () it also gives him greater control over the variety of coffee beans he can
source () and thereby () allows him to produce better quality coffee. Dealing
with a broker is like going to a buffet () everyday, he says. Having your own
company is like having a private chef. I sit down and say, this is what Im looking for

like for our 10-year anniversary () blend (), I want deep chocolate, I want
cherry, I want coconut and my Crop to Cup manager Moshe [Tawil] says, OK, Ill go to
this and that region () to get it. Crop to Cup is the name of Di Bellas green bean
purchasing program. He markets it as a program where the company works with coffeegrowing communities to improve their livelihood and quality of life. Under the
program, he deals directly with 40 farmers from 15 coffee regions in Papua New Guinea,
India, Africa and South America. In the past financial year, he says, he bought and
imported about 55 containers () of coffee worth about $6.6 million.
His position attracts () fierce () criticism () from others in the
industry (). Jasper coffee director Wells Trenfield is perhaps the most vehement (
) critic () of direct trade. He says those who go direct, rather than using brokers
that abide () by a regulatory system such as Fairtrade (), are simply lining
their own pockets. The price of a cup of coffee now should be $7.80, he says. The
industry () fails to come to terms with the slavery () used in production
and trading so that roasters () and consumers can buy cheap coffee. Coffee is the
worlds second most traded commodity after oil and the battle () to win the
consumer with the best coffee is intensifying (). Worldwide, more than 2.3 billion
cups of coffee are consumed daily and Australian consumption () is on the rise.
IBISWorld estimates that revenue in the local industry (including cafes and coffee shops)
will increase from $4.95 billion in 2011-12 to $6.15 billion in 2016-17.
In that context, Di Bella is a medium-sized player but his mission is to be known as
producing Australias best-quality coffee. Changing the way he sources it, however, has
thrown up () big ethical questions. Under his program, children under the legal
working age of 15 (as determined by the laws of the International Labour Organisation)
are allowed to work on farms under certain () conditions. He says he visits one
farm a year on average and Tawil, who has a relationship going back decades ()
with some farmers, says he visits about 10 farms a year to monitor whats going on. Di
Bella says Crop to Cup is also teaching farmers and their children new skills such as
roasting the beans which benefits them in the long term. He accepts that, obviously, he

cannot know whats going on in every farm all the time or exactly how much each child
is paid on an hourly basis but says that by dealing directly, he has more control than
dealing through a broker. You hope to have an influence and control what you can
control, he says. Its not in [the farmers] best interest to lie to me. If I find out, they
miss out on trading with me.
Nassim Khadem, N. (2012) Why this man supports child labour, BRW, 3 Aug 2012,
http://www.brw.com.au/