Starbucks reaffirms its commitment to east Africa

US coffee retail giant Starbucks has announced it will sell Fairtrade Rwandan coffee in its UK and Ireland outlets from early next year.  At the start of a four-day trip to Rwanda, in a move that reaffirms what the company calls its ÔÇ£ongoing commitment to east AfricaÔÇØ, Starbucks said that it will offer its first Fairtrade-certified whole bean Rwandan coffee across UK and Irish Starbucks stores from February 2010. The Rwandan coffee to be sold by the firm comes from the Dukunde Kawa co-op, which has been Fairtrade-certified since 2004. The company has pledged to make all of the espresso-based drinks sold in its 700 UK and Ireland outlets Fairtrade-certified by the end of this year. Espresso-based drinks make up the ÔÇ£vast majorityÔÇØ of those it offers, Starbucks says. According to the Fairtrade Foundation, the UK is one of the worldÔÇÖs leading Fairtrade markets, with more products and more awareness of Fairtrade than anywhere else. Starbucks and Fairtrade have been working together for ten years, with Starbucks now the largest buyer of Fairtrade-certified coffee in the world. US and Canadian branches of Starbucks will also stock limited-edition coffees and related products from east Africa, starting this week, the company said. Rwanda's climate, elevation and soil quality make it one of the best locations for growing coffee plants in the world. *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *