The open architecture of this electronic format is designed to support a movement toward convergence in electronic standards for transfer of documents and information throughout the global coffee market. By encouraging development of common Internet contract standards, the GCA is working to make the transfer of legally binding documentation for coffee more uniform, efficient and less costly.
"It is my extreme pleasure to help bring the green coffee industry into the 21st century," said Roland Veit, GCA Chairman. "The coffee industry will now be able to send and receive contracts electronically using this new and safe standard, and the result will be lower administration costs for everyone, as well as the ability to process cross-border transactions faster than before."
InterCommercial Markets Corp (www.intercommercial.com), an independent on-line trading and software application services provider to the global commodities industry, has also announced its intention to adopt the GCA standards to enable its coffee customers to transmit contracts and pricing data over the Internet.
The Internet contract initiative was spearheaded for the GCA by its Contract Modernization Committee, which includes representatives from throughout the coffee industry. The GCA has been working with experts from international e-business network bolero.net, which was launched by the world's financial and logistics industries in September 1999. The Bolero System allows all parties in cross-border trade to exchange trade data and documents, including contractual, settlement and fulfillment information, online in a secure, legally binding environment.
The boleroXML initiative was launched in April 2000 to standardize trade transactions. It has already published 65 document data definitions (DTDs) covering the 95% of documents most commonly used in world trade, ranging from Advance Shipment Notices to Bills of Lading and Letters of Credit.
The new electronic transfer standard format is now available at no charge for use throughout the global industry. For information about the format, potential users are encouraged to contact the Green Coffee Association at +1 212-742-5700.
The Green Coffee Association is the leading trade association dealing exclusively with green coffee in the United States. Established in 1923, it works in conjunction with the Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange (CSCE) of the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), a global marketplace for a variety of agricultural, financial and index futures and options products.
