Coffee Production Output Might Plunge by 20% This Year

In addition to the climate factor, the Coffee Beans Borer [CBB] pest posed as a threat to productivity of coffee in 2009. The CBB pest attack which hampered national coffee might cause slump in total coffee production output up to 20%. Drs. Rachim Kartabrata, Executive Secretary of the Association of Indonesia Coffee Exporters [AKEI] disclosed to Business News Wednesday [12/8].

While causing a drop in production coffee output, the CBB pest also defected the quality of coffee since coffee would be degraded, which would spoil the taste. Consequently, this would pull down the price of coffee which naturally decreased the nation’s foreign reserves while reducing the farmers’ income.

The attach of CBB disease waa detected by the Center of Coffee and Cacao Research in Jember, Java, and certain coffee production centers in Indonesia. The CBB pest also generally attacked cacao seeds, which brought losses to cacao farmers. In the effort to eradicate this CBB pest on coffee seeds, AEKI had reported the case to the International Coffee Organization [ICO] to obtain restoration fund from the Common Fund for commodities [CFC].

Further CFC had sent a team of consultants from July 26 to August 8, 2009 led by Dr. Gerrit van de Klashhost, to research the Arabica and Robusta coffee which had indications of being infected by CBB pest in Indonesia. The research started in the province of Aceh to see the Arabica coffee, continued to Lampung to observe the Robusta coffee, to Jember to see the Robusta coffee where visit would be made to the laboratory of Research and Development of the Coffee and Cacao Research Center in Jember, followed by visit to Arabica coffee plantations in Situbondo, further to Bali to observe the Robusta coffee plantation in Pupuan, and Arabica coffee plantation in Kintamani. In these visited regions the CFC Consultant Team would check the degree of severity of the CBB infected plantations.

The irregular climate change also ha its effect on coffee production in Indonesia. Due to the climate change, coffee production of 2009 were expected to be lower than the previous year. In spite of the scarcity of reliable data of the coffee production estimate this year, there were strong indications of productivity decrease. For example during the “wet” drought where rain still fell in coffee plantation areas, the blooming coffee plantation did not show any sign of pollination, the coffee leaves seemed bloomy but the coffee fruits were non-existent.

The temporary data obtained by AEKI showed that the total coffee production of 2008 was 687,450 tons. Such an enormous volume of coffee production were obtained from people’s plantations covering 1,259,656 ha producing 657,621 tons of coffee, plus the state’s major plantations covering 26,664 ha producing 17,049 tons of coffee, and large private plantations covering 26,989 ha producting 12,780 tons of coffee.
In 2008 the total area of coffee plantation was posted at 1,313,309 ha with total production of 687,450 tons. Species wise, the total area of Arabica coffee was posted at 178,816 ha producing 96,035 tons of coffee, whilst the total area of Robusta coffee was chalked up at 591,415 tons of coffee.