Coffee produced under the Rainforest Alliance’s certification system topped a billion pounds (455,000 tons) for the first time in 2013, reports Reuters.
The volume of Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee beans surged 20 percent during the year, with rising demand from big buyers like McDonald’s and Green Mountain Coffee. Overall Rainforest Alliance coffee — which is produced under environmental, social, and labor standards — accounted for 5.2 percent of global coffee bean output, up from 4.5 percent last year.
Overall, certified coffee production amounted to 3.3 million tons or 40 percent of global production in 2012.
A report released last month shows that uptake of many certified agricultural products is rising rapidly.
