Big Island coffee heading East

By Sean Hao
Advertiser Staff Writer

Sotero Agoot, manager of the 300-member Kona Pacific Farmers Cooperative, inspects the first shipment of Kona coffee purchased by the U.S. government. Ken Love • Special to the Advertiser

Within days, the 4,500 pounds of coffee, valued at more than $30,000, will be sent to a Maryland roaster and in a few weeks should be ready for distribution by U.S. Foodservice Inc. to military installations along the Eastern seaboard.

Though not as glamourous as a recent announcement that Hawaiian coffee now is served in the White House, the shipment actually should prove more lucrative for Hawa'i coffee growers. It's the first of what's expected to be $2 million in purchases of Hawaiian and Puerto Rican surplus coffee by the U.S. government over the next year or so.

"It's a start and it's Hawaiian coffee," said Sotero Agoot, general manger for the cooperative yesterday.

The shipment was sold by the Hawaii Products Marketing and Fulfillment Group, which was formed by the Kona Pacific Farmers Cooperative. The sales are split between Hawai'i and Puerto Rico because the government requires two domestic sources for coffee.

The arrangement also is unique in that farmers will sell their coffee directly to the government. Traditionally, coffee roasters buy coffee from farmers or brokers, then sell packaged coffee to various distributors.

Agoot said growers will get to keep more profits because they hire a roaster to prepare their coffee for retail sale to the government. For Mountainside Gourmet Inc., in Forestville, Md., roasting the coffee from Hawai'i also relieves some of the burden of coffee marketing.

"I'm really the employee of the farmer's co-op," said James Jones, owner of Mountainside Gourmet. "It's a major difference.

"It's a much better relationship between the government and the farmers."

The agreement also helps the U.S. government meet domestic, small and minority-owned business procurement goals, said Ed Loyd, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Under possible future deals Hawai'i farmers hope to eventually sell about 800,000 pounds of coffee, or 10 percent of the state's annual production, to the U.S. government each year.

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