Poor Farmer

The New Times Editorial via AllAfrica Global Media October 5, 2011 Once established, the plant will add value to coffee before export, consequently increasing farmers' earnings. Although the world coffee prices are expected to remain stable due to lower produce among the major coffee producing countries, Rwanda loses out on the lucrative industry because more than 98 per cent of her coffee exports are in the form of green beans which attract lower prices compared to roasted coffee. On the international market, roasted coffee sells at US$20 per kg while the green beans fetch US$6 per kilo, making the country to miss out on US$14 on in every kilogramme exported. The country, this year, targets to bring in US$60m in foreign exchange earnings from coffee exports. The goal is to raise US$100m (Rwf60b) in the subsequent year. To meet or even exceed the targets, the country needs to embark on the exploitation of roasted coffee, which is not only more profitable, bu...

-- Coffee is one of the most valuable products in world trade, in many years second in value only to oil as a source of foreign exchange to developing countries. -- A mature coffee tree will produce 1 to 1.5 pounds of coffee per growing season. It takes 2,000 hand-picked Arabica coffee cherries to make a roasted pound of coffee -- or approximately 4,000 beans. -- It takes about six years for a coffee tree to begin full yield. -- Coffee is a $90 billion industry worldwide. -- Four transnational companies control 40% of the world's coffee trade. -- Starbucks purchases about 2% of the world’s coffee, but dictates almost 75% of the US Specialty coffee business -- Brazil produces about one-third of the coffee in the world, twice as much as Colombia and Vietnam, which vie for second position. Indonesia, Mexico, India, Guatemala and Ethiopia are also major producers. -- In 2000, the United States imported 21-million bags (132 pounds each) of coffee.  U.S. coffee im...