Passage2
The International Coffee Agreement(ica) was set up in1963 to try to stop the downward drift of prices, and to "stabilize prices above their free market level. "It did this by regulating the supply of coffee beans coming on to the world market. Producing countries each agreed to export a "quota", a certain quantity of coffee, which was a little less than they would have normally exported without controls. By exporting slightly less than they might have done, the producing countries received a higher price per bag-and their overall revenues were higher. When coffee prices rose, producing countries were allowed an increase in their quotas, when prices fell their quotas decreased.
The agreement managed the market in a modest way but its biggest problem was that a timebomb(定时炸弹) markedoverproductionwas persistently ticking away underneath it-and finally exploded. Coffee producers had constrained their exports but not their output. This led to a huge build-up of stocks that countries could not sell, and it was clear that when the agreement ended, many of the stocks would be released on to the world market and the price would plummet.
The United States wanted larger quotas to be given to the producers of the higher quality Arabica coflees. And like other importing countries it wanted action to end the black market in international coffee trade, whereby countries traded their surplus unofficially, at a price sometimes only half that of the official world market price; half-price was thought better than dumping coffee beans in the sea or letting them rot.
49.Importing countries like to buy coffee in the black market because of its lower price.