Coffee prices are high, farmers need to focus on harvesting to ensure quality

(LĐ online) - These days, thousands of coffee farmers in Lam Dong province are happy and excited when the price of coffee beans increases, at times exceeding 130 million VND/ton. Everywhere, the bustling atmosphere of the crop season is overflowing, but there is also no shortage of worries and challenges.

Labor shortages and concerns about falling coffee prices have led farmers to harvest coffee even before it is ripe.

The family of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai, Ninh Gia commune, Duc Trong district currently has more than 8 hectares of coffee cultivation. This year's coffee crop, her family expects to harvest about 120 tons of fresh coffee berries, equivalent to about 28 tons of coffee beans, with an estimated yield of about 3.5 tons of beans/ha.

The coffee growing area is large, so her family decided to harvest the coffee early, even though the garden has not yet ripened and reached the recommended harvest time. Although, Ms. Hai also knows that when selling fresh coffee to agents, there will be more loss deductions. On the other hand, currently, her family's hiring of coffee pickers is becoming increasingly difficult due to lack of labor and high costs.

Ripe coffee will have a higher fresh weight and a better price than underripe coffee.

Besides the joy of farmers, the common concern of many coffee exporting enterprises in Lam Dong province is the shortage of workers to harvest coffee and the situation of harvesting coffee at the same time when the fruit is not ripe, leading to a decrease in the quality of coffee this year.

Mr. Doan Manh Trinh - Director of Tam Trinh Coffee Import-Export Company Limited, located in Lam Ha district, emphasized that picking coffee when it is not ripe not only causes damage to farmers but also affects the quality of coffee. In the long run, this will even have a negative impact on the coffee brand of Lam Dong province in particular and Vietnam in general.

Farmers in Tram Hanh commune, Da Lat city, pick and trim ripe coffee beans to achieve the highest quality.

Specifically, if farmers strictly follow the harvesting of ripe coffee with a rate of over 90%, it will bring many benefits. In particular, products made from coffee harvested at the right ripeness will produce quality products with delicious flavors. The sour and astringent components in the product are reduced to the lowest level. Along with that, producers benefit from a higher weight of fresh coffee, and a better price than coffee that is not ripe enough.

Therefore, in order to encourage farmers to harvest the highest quality coffee, the Company has developed a standard table of bonuses for high-quality coffee from farmers, emphasizing that fresh Robusta coffee with 90% or more ripeness will be rewarded with 1,000 VND/kg of fresh coffee compared to the market price; this company will not accept coffee with less than 50% ripeness. For silk-ground coffee, green cherries separated, and dried on outdoor racks according to the preliminary processing instructions of Tam Trinh Company, the company will reward 6,000 VND/kg of green coffee compared to the market price.

Coffee harvested at the right ripeness will produce quality products with delicious flavor.

According to the Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of Lam Dong province, the province currently has nearly 177 thousand hectares of coffee, with an estimated output of more than 572 thousand tons, an increase of 3.93% over the same period. In 2024, coffee productivity in many areas will be quite good, with many areas even achieving outstanding productivity. The reason why coffee gardens have achieved high productivity is thanks to the fact that functional sectors and localities have accelerated the implementation of the coffee replanting project with a yield of 3 - 4 tons of beans/ha, 1 - 2 tons/ha higher than before replanting. Entering the harvest season, the agricultural sector also strongly recommends that people only harvest coffee when the percentage of ripe fruit on the tree reaches 80% or more.

Mr. Ha Ngoc Chien - Head of the Department of Cultivation and Plant Protection of Lam Dong province said that entering the 2024-2025 coffee season, in order to improve coffee productivity and quality, continue to maintain and enhance the coffee brand of Lam Dong province, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has issued a document requesting the People's Committees of districts and cities to direct specialized departments and People's Committees of communes, wards and towns to strengthen guidance for coffee producers to follow the recommendations.

Specifically, people only harvest fruits when they are ripe; do not harvest green or immature fruits; harvest properly (do not strip, twist or break branches); harvest multiple times in one season to collect all ripe fruits; must stop harvesting 3-5 days before and after the flowers bloom. In particular, for coffee fruits using the wet processing method, the rate of ripe fruits must reach over 90%.

Ripe coffee is favored by roasters, with a bonus policy when purchasing.

In addition, after harvesting, coffee berries must be transported promptly to the processing facility. If wet processing, do not leave them for more than 24 hours. If dry processing, dry them on concrete or clay yards, with tarpaulin, no more than 30 cm thick and raked regularly, and must have means to cover them from the rain. The means of transport and packaging for coffee berries must be clean, not contaminated with fertilizers, chemicals, etc. In case of not being transported or processed promptly, the coffee must be dumped on a dry, cool surface and must not be piled more than 30 cm thick and raked regularly.

On the other hand, for facilities and households, when applying preliminary processing and processing methods (dry, semi-dry or wet), they must be suitable for each type of coffee and must ensure the quality requirements of the product. After being dried and dried to reach a humidity of 12 - 13%, coffee will be stored in specialized bags and stored in a clean, dry and airy warehouse. It is expected that this year's weather will have prolonged rain, affecting the harvesting, preservation and preliminary processing of coffee by people. Therefore, the Department of Agriculture also requested the People's Committees of districts and cities to direct specialized agencies and commune-level People's Committees to work with coffee drying facilities and coffee growing households to have appropriate harvesting and production plans to support people in effectively processing coffee to ensure quality.

Source: http://baolamdong.vn/kinh-te/202412/gia-ca-phe-tang-cao-nong-dan-can-chu-trong-khau-thu-hai-de-dam-bao-chat-luong-2de1587/