Beijing Zhu Wenqian, Kunming Li Yingqing
The total output of the entire region in 2024 will reach 146000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 13%
On January 8, 2025, at a plantation in Pu'er City, Yunnan Province, workers celebrated this year's coffee bean harvest.
Due to global coffee bean supply shortages and price increases, Yunnan Province in southwestern China has seized the opportunity to expand its business globally and export high-quality locally harvested coffee beans.
Brazil is the world's largest coffee producing country, accounting for 40% of the global coffee supply. The Brazilian Instant Coffee Industry Association recently predicted that due to severe weather, coffee bean production in South American countries is expected to decline by 4.4% this year, and this trend may continue until 2026. Driven by trends, international coffee prices have recently reached a historic high in nearly half a century.
Yunnan coffee has a history of over 130 years and has become one of the largest coffee growing regions in China. The Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of Yunnan Province stated that as of the end of last year, the total coffee production in the province reached 146000 tons, with an output value of nearly 5 billion yuan (about 681 million US dollars), a year-on-year increase of 13%.
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Kunming Customs stated that Yunnan exported 2787.5 tons of coffee beans in the first two months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 114.1%. The export value was 140 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 339.3%.
Last year, Yunnan's coffee bean exports reached 32500 tons, a year-on-year increase of 358%. Mainly exported to 29 countries and regions including the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, and Vietnam, Yunnan's coffee bean export value ranks first in the country.
Last year, the purchase price of Yunnan coffee beans reached 31.6%, and the deep processing rate also reached 80%, "said Bruce Lee, the president of Yunnan Coffee Association.
Li said, "Yunnan will continue to improve the deep processing rate of coffee beans, strengthen product research and development, and enhance quality. We will adhere to the path of cultivating more high-quality coffee beans, developing various products of different categories, flavors, and packaging to help boost consumption
With China becoming a major coffee consuming country, the coffee industry in China has experienced significant growth in the past few years, with numerous domestic coffee brands emerging and developing a more upgraded industrial chain.
Baoshan Linguo Coffee Co Ltd is a Baoshan coffee grower and processor located in a famous coffee producing area and high-quality coffee distribution center in Yunnan. The company said that when visiting its Baoshan base two years ago, it appreciated the quality of local coffee beans, so it provided coffee beans to customers including Sam's Club, a Wal Mart member store.
We have always been very focused on quality, only high quality can attract more customers. If it's just ordinary coffee beans, considering the cost of planting and processing, it's difficult to make a profit, "said Cao Cunli, President of Linguo Coffee. He has always insisted on planting organic coffee beans according to international standards, even though the company's production is not high.
On January 8, 2025, a coffee producer in Pu'er City explained interesting knowledge about coffee to tourists. (Photography/Xinhua News Agency)
Cao said that with the rise in international coffee market prices and the decrease in production in countries such as Brazil, the sales of coffee beans grown in Yunnan have increased. However, long-term sales growth still relies on providing high-quality products.
Meanwhile, Pu'er City in Yunnan Province has been found to be particularly suitable for growing Arabica coffee beans, thanks to its ideal climate and fertile soil.
According to the Pu'er Tea and Coffee Industry Development Center's forecast, the production of Pu'er green coffee beans is expected to reach 58000 tons in the 2024-25 season, which is the same as last year. Based on current market price analysis, it is expected that the output value will be the best year since the city started planting coffee beans.
Li Jun, deputy director of the Pu'er Branch of Kunming Customs, said, "We have given full play to the role of the State Key Laboratory of Pu'er tea testing, and organized an expert group to test the soil, irrigation water, coffee beans, diseases and pests of the Pu'er coffee planting demonstration base."
Kunming Customs focuses on helping local coffee bean growers and processors further improve product quality, assisting enterprises in solving problems encountered during the planting process, guiding enterprises to adjust planting density, regularly monitor pests and diseases, and improve product quality stability.
Li said that based on the test results, more guidance has been provided on coffee planting techniques to ensure the healthy development of the coffee industry and its export business in Pu'er City.
With the increasing demand for high-quality coffee beans in the international market, the local government in Pu'er actively guides farmers to raise awareness, cultivate more high-quality coffee beans, and promote the upgrading process.
The local government stated that there are about 270000 coffee growers and practitioners in Pu'er City, and the per capita income has doubled compared to three years ago.
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In addition to growing coffee, Pu'er has also developed tourism projects featuring new consumption scenarios. These projects include coffee estates, coffee themed commercial complexes, post offices, and parks, among others. The diversified business model of coffee also helps to penetrate the tourism industry in Pu'er.
The Pu'er Municipal Government stated that during this year's Spring Festival, Pu'er received a total of 3.25 million tourists, a year-on-year increase of 13.71%, and the total tourism revenue reached 3.44 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.21%.
The coffee consumption market in China has been growing rapidly, with Shanghai having the world's largest number of coffee shops. According to the data collected by the local market information collector "Business Information", as of the end of 2023, there are a total of 9553 coffee shops in Shanghai.
Compared with mature markets such as Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States, China's per capita coffee consumption still lags far behind. A report from the World Chinese Catering Federation shows that this undoubtedly creates enormous growth potential for the Chinese coffee market.
Please contact the author zhuwenqian@chinadaily.com.cn
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