US rejoining ICO no magic wand for coffee farmers

Reuters Investor
By Martha Sanchez

BOGOTA, Colombia, April 5 (Reuters) - The return of the United States to the International Coffee Organization would not be a "magic wand" for suffering growers but it would bolster political decisions at the international body, the group's executive director said.

The United States, the world's largest coffee consumer, said last month it was considering rejoining the ICO. Washington left the ICO more than a decade ago, arguing that the organization wanted to control prices artificially through quotas.

"We must not think that if the United States decides to rejoin the ICO everything is going to change overnight with a magic wand. But it is very important that the United States sit at the table to listen and find solutions," Nestor Osorio, executive director of the ICO, told Reuters in an interview late on Friday.

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