Hawai'i coffee farm sales up 4 percent

By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer

Sotero Agoot, manager of the Kona Pacific Farmers Cooperative, prepared in February to ship Kona coffee to the federal government. The coffee was distributed by U.S. Prime vendors. Advertiser library photo • Feb. 3, 2004

It was the third highest year for sales and the third best in the past five seasons. The total coffee harvest rose 11 percent to 8.3 million pounds statewide. That production increase was partially offset by a 6 percent drop in prices to an average of $2.90 a pound.

Among the major coffee producing islands the Big Island's harvest fell 2 percent to 4 million pounds. Combined production from Kaua'i and Maui rose 26 percent from the previous season to 4.3 million pounds.

Hawai'i's coffee industry benefited during the past year from increased exposure resulting from the White House's decision to serve Hawaiian coffee at certain state functions, and from a separate agreement to sell locally produced coffee to the U.S. government.

Heading into the 2004-2005 season, Big Island coffee millers expect the coffee harvest to be at least equal to 2003-2004 levels, helped by near or above average rainfall since November.

"With the rains we've been having ... if anything, it's going to make the trees stronger," said Sotero Agoot, general manger for the Kona Pacific Farmers Cooperative, which represents about 300 farmers. "If farmers pruned their trees right it should be a good crop this year. If not, then they should have an excellent crop next season."

Growers on on Kaua'i, Maui, Moloka'i and O'ahu expect an increase in production because of last year's rainy weather, according to the Hawai'i Agriculture Statistics Service.

Coffee has been grown in Hawai'i for nearly two centuries, with the Kona variety commanding the highest prices.

In tourist shops, most Kona coffee is sold in blends containing just 10 percent of the locally grown beans. Bags of pure Kona typically sell for $20 to $25 a pound here, and can go for $40 or more on the Mainland.

About 650 coffee farms occupy a 20-mile-long stretch along the Big Island's western coast. Kona is home to an estimated 93 percent of the Big Island's total acreage of coffee crops, producing an estimated 96 percent of the island's coffee.

The total acreage of Big Island coffee fields rose from 2,800 in 1998 to 3,500 last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates. Industry sources say the number of plantings in Kona will continue to rise because all the coffee grown is being sold.

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8093.