Indonesia’s Farmers are Internationally Certified to Produce Organic Coffee

08 Jul 2010 • by Natalie Aster

Indonesian Coffee is famous worldwide. Indonesia is currently the third largest producer of Coffee in the world following Brazil and Vietnam. The country also ranks fourth among green coffee exporters on the global market.

According to International Coffee Organization, in 2008 Indonesia produced 561,000 tones of green coffee accounting for approximately 9% of global output. Production is decreasing because of the slowing international demand. Indonesia's domestic Coffee consumption reaches around 190,000 metric tons annually.

The planted area for Coffee is decreasing, especially in the Robusta growing regions. This is reportedly due to lower Coffee prices. Farmers are apparently shifting from Coffee to cocoa trees, which require less maintenance and have generally provided higher, more stable prices over the past five years. It’s been noted that more and more farmers in the Lampung area – traditionally a major Coffee production area - are converting from Coffee to cocoa production.

Today, more than 90% of Indonesia’s Coffee is grown by smallholders on farms. Much of the production is organic and 19 farmers’ cooperatives and exporters are internationally certified to market organic Coffee. Despite the global financial crisis, there is a growing market for organic Coffee in the U.S and Canadian markets.

Robusta and Arabica Coffee beans from Indonesia are considered to be one of the best kinds in the world, and are praised for their richness, full body, long finish, earthiness and gentle acidity. There is growing interest for Indonesian Arabica in the world market. Some initiatives have been taken by several producers to develop specific Arabica varieties.

Robusta remains the highest in terms of exports (most of it is used in instant coffee and other manufactured products), with Arabica showing an increasing demand. Indonesian imports of processed Coffee (specialty grade) have grown by an average 43.4% over the last three years. Germany, the United States, and Japan remain the three largest importers of Indonesian Coffee. Demand from emerging markets such as Russia, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia is increasing.

The island of Sumatra, with the provinces of Lampung, South Sumatra and Bengkulu, is the largest Coffee producer.

More information on Indonesian Coffee market may be found in the research Coffee Market in Indonesia: Business Report 2010 recently published by TD The Market Publishers, Ltd.

Source: MarketPublishers, Ltd.