What is the price of Yemeni coffee? what factors affect the price of coffee? how to buy Yemeni coffee?

Yemeni coffee can make headlines about its price. Understandably, they usually sell for more than $60 per kilogram of greens. But why is Yemeni coffee so expensive? How much do you really give to the producer? Why does it still provide value for the roaster?

Many coffee producers in Yemen have small farms. "some farmers have only 20 trees, while our largest farmer has only 1000 trees," explained Abdulrahman Saeed, chief executive of Sabcomeed, a direct trading partner of Yemeni producers.

If a kilogram of wet red coffee cherries works with professional partners such as Sabcomeed, the income of its producers may be between $1.50 and $2.50. Abdul Rahman told me that in the local market, they can usually earn between 35 and 83 dollars. )

That doesn't sound like much, and the wild swings in the Yemeni rial may make it more difficult to measure the value of coffee crops. But for farmers, this may be the best way they have to support the extended family. Years of conflict have shrunk the country's GDP by 38 per cent since 2014. As a result, producers usually have limited job opportunities outside coffee, Abdul Rahman (Abdulrahman) told me. They may also produce fruits and vegetables, but mainly self-sufficient agriculture.

Coffee lost in grinding

Abdulrahman told me that the next step is to process it in the factory. But this presents a challenge because "the best output you can get is 10%." Therefore, for every 10 kilograms of red cherries processed, you will get one kilogram of green dried beans. " He explained that the standard ratio in other countries was 7:1 or 6:1.

A red cherry of $1.50 per kilogram becomes a green cherry of $15 per kilogram, which goes directly to the coffee maker. Then you need to add milling and shipping costs to the price.

But why does it take so many red cherries to make a kilogram of green cherries? "the sheller is destroying a lot of raw beans," explains Gerardo Diaz, a research and development consultant at Sabcomeed. "

"besides, our auction items are really small. Between one batch and another, you should clean the machine. For example, you may have a lot of coffee left in the machine, such as in the elevator. What a waste. "

Simple patches found in Latin America will not work because of Yemen's unique geographical location. "I tried to implement a system in which we measured the float of each shipment received," Gerardo explained. Defective coffee cherries are usually hollow, which means they float when they are in water. In Latin America, producers of specialty coffee markets often do this on farms.

"but because of the lack of water in the mountains of Yemen, it is almost impossible to do so," Gerardo continued. "Water is so precious that they don't want to waste it to measure the amount of coffee floating."

Infrastructure cost

"it has been neglected in agriculture for half a century or decades," Aboulrahamane stressed. This means that helping Yemeni farmers produce high-quality specialty coffee requires a lot of hands-on attention.

Low incomes make it impossible for farmers to afford agricultural inputs and infrastructure, from fertilizers to dryers. Abdul Rahman (Abdulrahman) points out that this is why Yemeni coffee has been produced in an organic and ecologically sustainable way for hundreds of years.

Gerardo, for example, is working with coffee producers on organic composting. This can increase the yield of each tree and reduce the percentage of defective cherries. Increasing production will increase income and help producers make more money without buying extra trees or land.

However, there are other types of equipment that are essential for the production of specialty coffee. Abdul Rahman (Abdulrahman) told me: "We also need the cost of [elevated beds]." They need moistureproof devices, and we need professionals to go to [the farm] for scans. "

The elevated bed will dry the coffee evenly, helping to prevent defects and pollution. The moisture meter helps to monitor the drying time and ensures that the coffee is taken out of the bed only when it is dry enough.

In many producing countries, these costs are paid by farmers from their profits or through loans. However, in Yemen, many farmers do not have enough income to achieve this goal and do not have access to credit. Abdul Rahman (Abdulrahman) told me: "the concept of microcredit or loan or any risk to farmers is zero." I don't accept it at all. " Sabcomeed provides the infrastructure and further increases the cost per kilogram of raw coffee.

Bring coffee to the port

Poor yields mean that some Yemeni farmers produce only one kilogram of raw coffee. But before preparing for export, this kilogram needs a lot of support.

"Sabcomeed has 14 full-time employees in four drying centers," Abdulrahman told me about operations managers, production managers and assistants. Due to the small quantity, this means that eight tons of exportable raw coffee is needed to support at least 15 full-time employees. This quickly increased the high price.

Then there are domestic transportation costs. Fuel prices are $12 a gallon, twice the European average and four times the American average. However, everything from visiting coffee farms to transporting coffee to the port requires transportation. "you're talking about multiple cars, sometimes 12, going in and out of the area to provide [dry] beds," Abdulrahman said.

And because of the geopolitical conflict in Yemen, Abdul Rahman said there could be as many as 60 checkpoints from regional warehouses to ports. From official checkpoints to what he calls "thugs", this is fine.

He told me that many checkpoints also want some form of payment, let alone take the time to explain who you are and why you are allowed to pass.

A container whose transport part is empty.

Finally, the raw coffee arrived at the port of Aden, ready for export. But costs here are also starting to rise rapidly.

The civil war in Yemen has weakened investment in shipping infrastructure, so coffee exporters spend a lot of time looking for suitable containers. "We must find our own container. A clean container with no rust or salty inside, "Abdulrahman explained. His team is usually the one who cleans the containers and adds insulators.

Exporters must then deal with the fact that they spread high shipping costs over a small amount of raw coffee. "you'll laugh!" Abdul Rahman told me. "if we [have to wait for the export of a whole ton of 20-ton containers], it will take us several years."

In order to ship the container to Dubai, "someone will give us an offer, say $3000 or $2000," Aboulrahamane told me. "when you arrive in Dubai, you need customs clearance, which costs another $3000."

However, in Europe and the United States, the cost of speeding up raw coffee to coffee roasters will be greatly increased. Because roasters usually buy small batches of 25-50 kilograms of products from specific individuals and communities, the cost of transportation from Yemen to the roaster door alone may increase by $10 per kilogram.