At a Glance (China Coffee Network): Lancang County’s more than 80,000 mu of coffee have entered the harvest season. Through minimum-price purchasing, nearby hiring and technical training, the county links production and sales, steadily increasing farmers’ incomes; companies have advanced over 6 million yuan and lifted more than 130 households, pushing the industry from selling green beans toward specialty coffee and a full “seed-to-cup” chain.
Across Lancang County, more than 80,000 mu of coffee have entered the harvest season. Ripe red-and-green cherries dot the branches of coffee trees covering the hills, and growers move skillfully among them picking the fruit. Through minimum-price purchasing, nearby hiring and technical training, the county links production and sales so fresh cherries are processed promptly, steadily increasing farmers’ incomes.
Farmers do the math
Earning 200 yuan a day close to home, while caring for the family
At the Guogei coffee plantation in Laba Township, Lancang, villager Weinatuo is dexterously picking ripe cherries. She told the reporter that her family grows 16 mu of coffee, of which 6 mu are harvestable this year; the first batch is already picked, and she now helps at the plantation, having worked there for two or three days.
“In a day I can pick 40 to 50 kilograms, earning at least 100 to 200 yuan. Here they buy everything we pick, and my family expects to earn 40,000 to 50,000 yuan this year,” Weinatuo said with a smile. She is happy working close to home—able to care for her elderly parents and children while earning a second income.
Last year Weinatuo’s family earned more than 50,000 yuan from selling fresh cherries. This year the trees are bearing more densely, and at the minimum purchase price her income is expected to rise further. Because the coffee harvest lasts long and demands much labor, it provides households with an income stream for nearly half the year and creates nearby jobs for surplus workers. A skilled picker can harvest over a hundred jin of fresh cherries a day.
Enterprises underwrite the risk
Over 6 million yuan advanced, lifting more than 130 households
Zhang Qisheng, head of Lancang Guogei Hongfeng Coffee Bean Co., Ltd., explained that this season the company plans to purchase more than 800 tons of fresh cherries, buying at current futures prices with over 6 million yuan advanced upfront. During the harvest, the company needs eight local workers daily for processing, paying about 180,000 yuan in wages; at the peak of picking it requires about 100 pickers a day, simultaneously lifting the incomes of more than 130 households in two nearby villages.
“We apply targeted and minimum-price purchasing for our 138 contracted households, pricing by quality grade; current fresh-cherry prices are around 7 yuan,” Zhang said, adding that the company sorts and processes the same day’s purchases on the same day to ensure quality.
The whole chain steps up
From selling green beans to making specialty coffee — linking “seed to cup”
In recent years, leveraging its climate and land advantages, Lancang has prioritized coffee as a signature pillar industry for rural revitalization. Through a “government + company + base + household” model, it provides unified seedlings, technical guidance and minimum-price purchasing, effectively removing growers’ worries about “growing well and selling out.”
Lin Yuan, director of Lancang’s Tea and Specialty Bio-industry Development Center, said the county is focusing on raising coffee quality and efficiency and boosting farmers’ incomes by strengthening the full industry chain. On one front it promotes superior varieties and standardized care, strictly regulating picking and sorting to avoid premature or mixed harvesting and raise the specialty rate. On another it refines processing and develops roasted beans, drip-bag coffee and freeze-dried coffee, moving beyond selling raw green beans to raise added value and build the brand. It also fosters coffee-tourism integration and study-tour experiences, completing the chain from seed to cup.
It is understood that in 2026 Lancang’s coffee planting area reached more than 80,000 mu, covering 9,880 households, with bean output for the 2026–2027 season expected at 6,000 tons and a specialty rate of 50%. Green beans mainly go to companies such as Nestlé and Starbucks and to markets in Beijing, Shanghai and abroad including Malaysia. The red cherries are truly becoming “golden fruit” that deliver lasting income growth for local people.
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- This article has been edited and compiled by China Coffee Network and reprinted from Lancang County Media Center, “澜沧:8万余亩咖啡进入采摘季 红果果变成群众增收果.” The copyright of the original text belongs to Lancang County Media Center and the original author. This reprint is intended solely for information sharing within the coffee industry and does not represent the views of this website; all data and opinions are subject to the original article. Our thanks to the original author for creating and sharing it.
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