Drought blights coffee harvest
Source: Xinhua |
May 2, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE drought that has parched southwest China could affect the output of 60 percent of the coffee farms in Yunnan Province, according to the Coffee Association of Yunnan.
And industry analysts say the persistent drought could also threaten coffee bean output over the next two years.
Yunnan, with 32,000 hectares of coffee plantations, accounts for 98 percent of China's 32,700 hectares of coffee plantations, according to the association.
The report was compiled after an investigative team went to the province in April.
"Coffee seedlings planted in the past three years were affected the most," said association vice president Liu Biao. "According to our conservative estimate, two fifths of the newly planted coffee seedlings in Yunnan last year have withered during the persistent drought."
In Pu'er City, where more than 100,000 farmers produce coffee, the drought affected almost all its 14,533 hectares of plantations, he said.
The key months for coffee planting in China are October to March when coffee trees blossom and mature.
"The coffee plants failed to flower or just withered," Liu said. "This will cast a shadow over the coffee bean yield in the next two years."
The drought has parched the southern areas of Yunnan Province, the northeast regions of Guizhou Province, and the eastern and southern parts of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The drought was among the most severe in decades and more than 20 million people and 10 million head of livestock were affected by water shortages at its peak.
The association's investigation found the quality of coffee beans produced in Yunnan this year was far below that of normal years, resulting in losses of at least 38 million yuan (US$5.56 million).
Yunnan supplies coffee beans to international brands, including Nescafe and Maxwell House.
The world produces about 7 million tons of coffee beans every year while China's annual coffee bean yield is just 40,000 tons.
Yunnan Province had planned to more than double its coffee-growing area to about 67,000 hectares and raise its annual output to 100,000 tons in the next five years.
And industry analysts say the persistent drought could also threaten coffee bean output over the next two years.
Yunnan, with 32,000 hectares of coffee plantations, accounts for 98 percent of China's 32,700 hectares of coffee plantations, according to the association.
The report was compiled after an investigative team went to the province in April.
"Coffee seedlings planted in the past three years were affected the most," said association vice president Liu Biao. "According to our conservative estimate, two fifths of the newly planted coffee seedlings in Yunnan last year have withered during the persistent drought."
In Pu'er City, where more than 100,000 farmers produce coffee, the drought affected almost all its 14,533 hectares of plantations, he said.
The key months for coffee planting in China are October to March when coffee trees blossom and mature.
"The coffee plants failed to flower or just withered," Liu said. "This will cast a shadow over the coffee bean yield in the next two years."
The drought has parched the southern areas of Yunnan Province, the northeast regions of Guizhou Province, and the eastern and southern parts of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The drought was among the most severe in decades and more than 20 million people and 10 million head of livestock were affected by water shortages at its peak.
The association's investigation found the quality of coffee beans produced in Yunnan this year was far below that of normal years, resulting in losses of at least 38 million yuan (US$5.56 million).
Yunnan supplies coffee beans to international brands, including Nescafe and Maxwell House.
The world produces about 7 million tons of coffee beans every year while China's annual coffee bean yield is just 40,000 tons.
Yunnan Province had planned to more than double its coffee-growing area to about 67,000 hectares and raise its annual output to 100,000 tons in the next five years.
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