In addition to the laudable motivation to generate additional economic and material benefits for 'fair-trade' certified coffee producers, the determination of the past and present prices (USD/100 lbs green coffee) paid to them must be based on numbers and considerations. What are these, and how is the price calculated?
Consumers spend a lot of money on one thing but grouse about the cost of another because demand is essentially a function of the utility the commodity confers.
The knowledge required to produce an exquisite coffee has been honed by centuries of tea masters! And this knowledge covers both the cultivation of the species of the tree and the processing of its harvested beans.
Like wine, there’s the processing to make the finished product. For coffee, there is a procedure to how this might be done!
The procedure is lengthy from harvesting the cocoa beans from the pods and is both an art and a science. And sometimes a closely held secret. Rancidity is one process which has to be minimized.
The unique flavor of a genuine coffee depends on the specific variety and environment of the cocoa plant and the technology adopted in drying the beans.
As with any crop, all these myriad elements factor into the price you end up paying. The value of the beans in the market is also affected by the aflatoxin concentration.
Good Agricultural Practices in coffee begin from Good Cultivation Practices, to Soil fertility management practises, Good pest/disease management practises, Canopy management for quality beans and Good Cherry harvesting practices all at farm level. Transportation for Pulping and Milling at factory level follows. When all the processes up-to that level are good, the product quality will meet the consumers expectations and therefore each node in this value chain should be rewarded accordingly.
I think you have an underlying issue here - what is a 'fair' price? How much of a margin is considered 'fair'? Who in the production/supply chain is entitled to how much profit? How much are consumers willing to pay? The underlying numbers for costs at different quality levels can be calculated however, these numbers do not answer the questions above. Often fair trade prices are linked to living wage considerations for the producing farmers, and these will vary by country. A starting point that might help you could be this publication:
Method Guide How To Calculate Fair Prices
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