Coffee crisis in the GDR

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"Coffee Mix"

The coffee crisis in the GDR was the result of coffee supply difficulties in the GDR in the late 1970s .

situation

Around 1977 problems arose in the GDR in supplying domestic trade with this commodity, which was only available on the world market for foreign currency . The GDR coffee crisis indirectly led to changes in the global coffee market. In terms of foreign policy, the coffee crisis marked a reorientation of the GDR's foreign and development policy towards a significantly stronger economization. In particular, exchanges of weapons and trucks from the GDR for green coffee and energy resources from the partner countries were sought.

prehistory

As in almost all of post-war Europe, coffee was in short supply in the Soviet occupation zone after 1945 . The GDR's first coffee imports came through the Soviet Union . The discontinuation of these deliveries in 1954 led to one of the first supply crises and intensified efforts to generate the necessary foreign exchange for the purchase of the coveted raw material. From 1957, roasted coffee was produced in the GDR under the Röstfein brand. Coffee developed into one of the most important items in the budget of GDR private households until the 1970s, with gifts from West German relatives covering around 20 percent of the needs. From the 1960s onwards, basic food supplies were secured in the GDR, but luxury and consumer goods and delicacies were hardly available. In addition to a significantly higher consumption of luxury goods such as confectionery, tobacco and alcoholic beverages , this indirectly led to an increased consumption of coffee beans (3.6 kilograms per capita and year) in the 1970s. At that time, GDR citizens spent 3.3 billion marks a year on coffee, almost as much as on furniture and almost twice as much as on shoes.

1977 coffee crisis

A real coffee crisis began in 1976. At that time, the world market prices for coffee had risen dramatically due to a bad harvest in Brazil and forced the GDR to spend almost 700 million currency marks or around 300 million dollars on the world market on coffee imports per year instead of around 150 . At the same time, the effects of the 1973 oil crisis did not reach the GDR until the mid-1970s due to the Comecon-based transfer prices set in the five-year mean of the world market price. The SED leadership cut back all imports of food and beverages in order to have urgently needed foreign exchange for the import of oil .

The cessation of coffee imports recommended by Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski was still averted by ZK member Werner Lamberz with armaments and barter deals, for example with Ethiopia . However, the cheapest coffee type "Kosta", which had been available until then, was discontinued and only the "Rondo" and "Mona" varieties, which were 12.5 and 25 percent more expensive, were offered. In addition, with the coffee mix, a mixed coffee type with 50 percent substitute coffee came onto the market. A quota was not included. It was assumed that the population was able to get coffee from relatives in the Federal Republic of Germany. The increasing demand for the typical gift in return from East Germans, the Dresdner Christstollen , also caused problems for the GDR economy, as ingredients such as almonds , currants and orange peel were also only available for foreign currency. However, in 1978, Schalck-Golodkowski was unable to enforce a ban on taverns.

The citizens of the GDR predominantly rejected the coffee mix and perceived the coffee shortage as an attack on a central consumer need and an important part of everyday culture. Mocking names like "Erichs Krönung" were coined. The coffee mix led to breakdowns in coffee machines in the catering industry, since the mixture u. a. Pea flour was added. The protein it contained swelled under pressure and heat and clogged the filters. There were numerous petitions and outraged reactions to various bodies, as well as protests. When the coffee price normalized again after 1978 with the relaxation on the coffee market, the procurement of foreign currency for this consumer article remained a problem in the GDR in the 1980s, and the continuing supply crises led to the political leadership losing face. It is assumed that 20 to 25 percent of the total coffee consumption in the GDR from 1975 to 1977 came from the Federal Republic as part of the classic Western package . Coffee thus assumed a role that went far beyond its role as a luxury food and - after oil - the most important world trade product as a symbol within Germany.

Effects in the Federal Republic

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the rise in coffee prices in 1977 did not lead to supply bottlenecks. But cheaper types of coffee were used in the lower price segment. Surrogate mixtures were introduced in 1977 under brand names such as " Caro mit", "Jota-Sport", "Aromata" or "Rogga half & half", but only to a limited extent. Coffee traders such as Tchibo and later Eduscho began offering coffee together with non-food items as part of cross-selling in the 1970s ; this can also be attributed to the effects of the crisis in the coffee market in the west.

Influence on coffee production in Vietnam

Relations between the GDR and Vietnam were extraordinarily close, which has resulted in a connection with Germany that is unique in Asia. Small amounts of coffee had been grown in Vietnam as early as 1926 under French rule. From 1975, largely parallel to the coffee crisis in the GDR, the systematic cultivation of Robusta coffees began. These grow faster, contain more caffeine , can be grown in the Vietnamese highlands and are easier to harvest mechanically. Compared to Arabica coffees, the quality and the price level are lower.

In 1980 and 1986, under the influence of the coffee crisis of 1977, two government agreements were concluded between the GDR and Vietnam. The GDR supplied the equipment and the machines that were necessary for the construction, Vietnam increased the cultivated area from 600 to 8600 hectares and trained local specialists in the GDR in crop production. In particular, the GDR supplied trucks, technical equipment and irrigation systems to the newly founded Viet-Duc combine and built a hydroelectric power station in Dray Linh for the equivalent of US $ 20 million . The GDR built accommodation and supply facilities for 10,000 people resettled from the coast who were scheduled for cultivation and harvest. The GDR was to receive half of the entire Vietnamese coffee harvest in return for a period of 20 years. But coffee takes eight years from planting to harvest. In 1990 there should be the first usable harvest.

After 1990, Vietnam succeeded in establishing itself on the world market as the second largest supplier after Brazil and in particular in ousting traditional African coffee-growing countries from the market. The lifting of the US trade boycott against Vietnam was helpful. Together, this led to another global coffee crisis in 2001 - now due to oversupply . According to the Federal Foreign Office's country information , Germany (2008) is the largest buyer of Vietnamese coffee, ahead of the USA.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Africa and the other: Alterity and innovation by the Association of Africanists in Germany Annual Conference, Heike Schmidt, Albert Wirz Published by LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Münster, 1998, ISBN 3-8258-3395-X
  2. ↑ Hans-Joachim Döring : Development policy and solidarity in the GDR, presented using examples of state cooperation with Mozambique and Ethiopia and the development-related educational work of independent groups (PDF; 797 kB) Diss., TU Berlin 2007.
  3. ↑ Hans-Joachim Döring: "It's about our existence". The policy of the GDR towards the Third World using the example of Mozambique and Ethiopia. (Research on GDR society), Ch. Links Verlag , Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-86153-185-2 , p. 115 ff.
  4. ↑ Stefan Wolle : The ideal world of dictatorship. Everyday life and rule in the GDR 1971–1989. Econ & List, Munich 1999, p. 328 ff.
  5. ↑ Volker Wünderich: The "coffee crisis" of 1977. Luxury items and consumer protest in the GDR. In: Historische Anthropologie 11 (2003), pp. 240–261.
  6. ^ Annette Kaminsky: Illustrated consumer history of the GDR. State Center for Civic Education Thuringia, Erfurt 1999, ISBN 3-931426-31-9 .
  7. ^ GDR: The citizens are rebellious . In: Der Spiegel . No. 43 , 1977, pp. 46–65 ( online - here p. 53).
  8. ^ Rainer Karlsch, Raymond G. Stokes: Factor oil: The mineral oil industry in Germany 1859-1974. 1st edition. C. H. Beck, 2003.
  9. ^ André Steiner: Federal Republic and GDR in the double crisis of European industrial societies on socio-economic change in the 1970s. In: Zeithistorische Forschungen / Studies in Contemporary History. Online edition, 3 (2006) H. 3.
  10. ↑ Ariane Mohl: Blue against brown beans The city of Luckenwalde wants to pay tribute to the GDR chief ideologist Werner Lamberz with a memorial. In: Märkische Allgemeine . May 22, 2007
  11. ↑ Coffee for weapons . In: MDR time travel . August 6, 2014
  12. ↑ Communication from the Ministry of Trade and Supply of September 1977, Berlin (ADN)
  13. ^ Gudrun Janicke: Coffee mix from the GDR: "Erichs Krönung" . In: Schweriner People's Newspaper . 26th September 2017
  14. ↑ a b c d Coffee in both post-war German states: consumption, discourse, interpretation and relationships. ongoing doctoral thesis by Monika Sigmund, since 2003 as a research assistant at the Research Center for Contemporary History, since July 2007 scholarship from the Foundation for the coming to terms with the SED dictatorship
  15. ↑ Hans-Joachim Döring 1999, op. a. O, p. 121.
  16. ↑ Schweriner Volkszeitung on Erich's coronation
  17. ^ Coffee in the GDR ( Memento from August 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  18. ^ Felix Mühlberg: Citizens, Requests and Authorities. History of the submission in the GDR (= texts 11 of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation). 2004, ISBN 3-320-02947-9 .
  19. ↑ Kosta, Rondo, Kaffeemix - Honeckers Kaffeekrise MDR.DE broadcast of January 16, 2007 ( Memento of October 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  20. ↑ kaffeeverband.de ( Memento from August 21, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Reader of the German Coffee Association, as of 2004.
  21. ^ Coffee and Tea Market May 6, 1977 page 3, refers to similar developments in the USA
  22. ↑ ihk-koeln.de ( Memento from April 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) IHK country focus Vietnam as of 10/2003, according to which over 100,000 Vietnamese were working, training and studying in the GDR, the over 10,000 academics make up a significant proportion of the Vietnamese elite
  23. ^ A b c d Bernd Schaefer: Socialist Modernization in Vietnam: The East German Approach, 1976–1989 - in: Comrades of Color - East Germany in the Cold War World, Edited by Quinn Slobodian , New York 2015, ISBN 978-1- 78238-705-3 , p. 108 ff.
  24. ↑ daklakcoffee.de: Vietnam and the GDR sign “coffee agreements” , accessed on June 14, 2016