Production of coffee in isles perks anew

One of Hawaii’s most well-known and valuable agricultural commodities rebounded last year as local farmers generally produced more coffee and sold beans for higher prices, a new government report estimates.

The value of coffee sold by farmers statewide rose 15 percent to $62.2 million in 2016 after falling 14 percent to $54.2 million in 2015 from $62.6 million in 2014.

Last year’s gain reflected a 5 percent increase in production volume and a 10 percent increase in the average price, according to the report produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture with assistance from the state Department of Agriculture.

The report said coffee farmers produced and sold 36.4 million pounds of coffee last year compared with 34.7 million pounds the year before. Farmers were paid $1.71 per pound on average last year, up from $1.56 a year earlier.

Both the production volume and price last year were similar to values in 2014.

“It seems like every other year we have a bumper crop,” said Phil Becker, who owns a 150-acre farm, Aikane Plantation Coffee Co., with his wife, Merle, on Hawaii island in Kau.

Becker said part of the reason Aikane Plantation produced more coffee last season was the recovery of about 3,000 trees that were ruined by high winds in the prior season. “Losing production from 3,000 trees was a big hit for us,” he said. Those trees produced coffee last year after they were cut down to knee height in what is known as stumping.

Generally for coffee farmers throughout the state, last year had beneficial weather at the right time while farmers also controlled the coffee berry borer pest better, said Kathy King, state statistician with the USDA’s Hawaii field office.

The coffee berry borer is a tiny pest that was found on Hawaii island in 2010. The pest later spread to Oahu, and late last year was discovered on a 13-acre farm and in someone’s backyard in East Maui.

Coffee is also grown on Molokai and Kauai. Harvesting happens throughout the year in Hawaii, but a season is defined by USDA as starting in late summer and extending to early the following year.

USDA production and sale data are based on surveys of farmers and deemed preliminary.

An idea of how last year’s coffee crop compared with more historical figures isn’t possible based on USDA’s report because the agency changed how it measures coffee production, prices and value three years ago.

The agency’s recent reports are based on cherry coffee, which is the bean covered by its red fruit after being picked from trees. Removing the fruit leaves what is called parchment coffee, which is the green bean covered by a fibrous membrane.

Hawaii coffee farmers sell beans in all three forms — cherry, parchment and green — though most sell cherry coffee. Prior to 2014 the USDA published data that converted all coffee to a parchment equivalent.

Last year Hawaii farms sold 6,116 pounds of green coffee, up from 5,786 pounds the year before. The average price for green beans was $11 last year, up from $10.17 the year before.

The report also said farms sold 7,900 pounds of parchment coffee last year, up from 7,600 pounds the year before. The average parchment price was $9.68, up from $8.60 the year before.