direct trade
Buyer-meets-seller exchange
Direct trade is a purchasing relationship where buyers source goods directly from producers, bypassing intermediaries.
The term appears most often in coffee and chocolate, where roasters or manufacturers buy straight from farmers: Our beans are direct trade from a cooperative in Guatemala.
Proponents contrast it with fair trade certification, emphasizing personal relationships and transparency over third-party standards.
- single-originFrom one locale only
- traceabilityVerifiable origin and path
- contract farmingArranged production for buyers
- face to faceIn someone's presence
- farmAgricultural land tract
specialty coffee · bean to bar · ethical sourcing · transparency · price negotiation · disintermediation · sustainability · quality control · producer · hands on · cooperative · relationship · living wage · artisanal goods · beans · equity · middleman · import export