East Java's Jan-Nov Coffee Production Recorded at 220 Thousand Tons

Surabaya, E Java (Antara) -- Indonesia's East Java province produced 220 thousand tons of coffee in the January-November 2014 period, according to the Indonesian Coffee Producers Association (APKI). "The output of 220 thousand tons indicates a 40 to 50 percent increase in the coffee production of East Java," APKI Chairman for East Java Bambang Sriono said here on Monday. He added that the rise in the production of East Java's coffee could be attributed to improvements in farmers' harvests as a result of the favorable weather conditions this year. In addition, coffee prices in domestic and international markets were also better than those of Brazil, where production declined due to harvest failure. "The costs of coffee in domestic and international markets were encouraging even when global economic conditions in 2014 were unfavorable," the APKI chairman remarked. Furthermore, the demand for coffee was able to balance the increase in the coffee harvest production. The East Java chapter of APKI noted that the price of the Arabica type of coffee in the world market stood at US$3,500 to US$5,000 per ton, while that of the Rubusta type was at between US$2,300 and US$3,000 per ton. "This boost was a result of the increase in the demand for coffee in the global market. Many buyers visited East Java to buy the product," Sriono pointed out. A number of buyer representatives from Europe, including those from the Netherlands, Britain, Germany and Poland, visited East Java's coffee production center in Situbondo. Representatives from Morocco also visited Indonesia for coffee, in anticipation of its rising global demand. "East Java's coffee is still mostly distributed in domestic markets---as much as some 70 percent of the production---while only about 30 percent is exported," Sriono revealed. The biggest importers of East Java's Arabica type of coffee are the United States and Europe, while its overseas market for Robusta coffee are Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea. In Africa, East Java's market for Robusta coffee is in Morocco, among other nations. (*)