The coffee bean in Ethiopia has a sacred status - coffee ceremonies are an integral part of Ethiopian life and growing coffee provides a quarter of the population with their income. The recent slump in world coffee prices, primarily due to the multinational coffee roasters who buy up nearly half the world's coffee, has dramatically affected the economy of Ethiopia. When a consumer pays £1.75 for coffee the farmer will only receive 1.5p of this sale. Most of the wealth generated by coffee sales goes overseas.