Coffee crisis: 'You can't image how urgent it is'

Coffee producers from all over the world are pleading for urgent meetings with such leading clients as Starbucks and Nestlé amid a crisis in precious without precedent in recent years.

The World Coffee Producers Forum launched the plea at a press conference in London early today. "This is a time of desperation for 25 million coffee producers all over the world. This is a crisis that you simply couldn't imagine," said Roberto Velez, leader of the Colombian producers.

Prices are running at a 12-year low. Futures of the high-quality arabica coffee produced in Central America and Colombia today were once again below one dollar per pound, a price that producers say is very much less than they can cover their costs.