Hawaii Coffee Crop

This year's Hawaii coffee crop is a double shot -- lower Kona production but higher output on the other islands.

In an off-year for a crop that tends to alternate between larger and smaller harvests because of the way the trees grow, Hawaii coffee growers will produce 7.3 million pounds this season.

That estimate, jointly released Tuesday by the National Agricultural Statistics Service Hawaii Field Office and the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, is down 11 percent from the previous season.

But production actually is higher away from the Big Island.

Because rainfall in Kona was below normal through much of the spring 2006 flowering period, Big Island coffee production is expected to be down 40 percent, to 3.5 million pounds.

Production on Oahu, Maui, Molokai and Kauai, is coming in at an estimated 3.8 million pounds, up 58 percent from the previous harvest.

"Most of the orchards on these islands are irrigated," said Mark Hudson, director of the NASS Hawaii Field Office, "which lessens the impact of dry weather."

Growers also have been ramping up production at several farms outside Hawaii County. In fact, a 7 percent increase in acreage on other islands -- rejuvenating previously abandoned or neglected fields -- more than offset a 3 percent decrease in Big Island coffee acreage. Statewide, there were 8,200 acres in coffee this season, and 6,300 harvested acres, the most in five years.

Comparing the situation to previous "off" years, Nils Morita, research statistician for the field office, reported that the estimated production is close to that of the 2002-2003 season and much better than the 2004-2005 season.

Coffee prices paid to growers have been averaging $4.15 per pound, down 9 percent from the previous season. Total farm value, factoring in both the lower price and the lower production, is gauged at $30.3 million, down 19 percent.

The report said there were 3,000 harvested acres on the Big Island this season of which 2,650 acres were on 630 farms in the Kona districts. There are 50 more Kona coffee growers than there were five years ago. The other 350 acres are on 115 farms scattered around the Big Island.

World Coffee Update
World coffee production for the 2006-2007 season is estimated at almost 129 million bags, up almost 15 million bags from the previous season. Brazil coffee production alone is 46.5 million bags, while Vietnam production is 16.5 million bags.

Reach Howard Dicus at hdicus@bizjournals.com


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