Yunnan Coffee beans pirated Pu'er Tea Crazy

Every reporter Cao Shengyuan comes from Pu'er in Yunnan.

In early April, Lao Wang's coffee field in Nandaohe Village, Pu'er City, should have used a new batch of fertilizer, but because of the "suspension of Nestle coffee", Lao Wang was unable to cash his coffee beans in time, so he was unable to buy a new batch of fertilizer.

At present, there is still a month left in the Yunnan coffee purchasing season, and Lao Wang is anxiously waiting for a reply from Nestl é. He was even more uneasy when he learned that at least about 30,000 tons of coffee beans, or about half of the local annual output, had not been sold in the province.

This is only a footnote to the "Great Leap forward" development of the local coffee industry in Pu'er. From selling and hoarding, to selling at a low price, and then to Nestl é suspending acquisitions, the coffee growing craze has gradually sobered up because of this sudden harvest stoppage. Apart from being sober, a reflection on the coffee industry in Yunnan has more practical significance.

Coffee and Pu'er

"there used to be big trees on the opposite hill, but now they are all planted with coffee trees." "there are also some tea growers who are starting to grow coffee because of poor production," Lao Xiong from Nandao River, Nanping Town, Pu'er City, pointing to the coffee trees in front and back of his house, told the Daily Economic News. "

On the way to Dakaihe Village in Yunnan Province, a farmer who used to open a small shop also changed some of his family's tea trees with poor harvests to coffee trees in the past two years. "although the price of coffee has been reduced this year, but the profit is a little higher than tea."

During the Qingming Festival, when a reporter from the Daily Economic News walked some coffee plantations in Pu'er, the story of "coffee vs. Pu'er" was often mentioned.

The enthusiasm of the villagers in the "hometown of Pu'er" to plant coffee trees reached the best part in 2011. Because the value of coffee reached an all-time high this year. In May last year, the price of coffee on the New York Futures Exchange climbed to a 35-year high of 41 yuan per kilogram (the cost of growing coffee is 12-15 yuan per kilogram), according to the data.

In the face of such high profit margins, coffee has naturally become the most talked about topic among local villagers, and coffee has naturally become another term for "madness" after Pu'er tea.

History is sometimes strikingly similar, just like Pu'er tea. In March, the price of coffee beans plummeted by 45%, and Nestle even announced that it would stop buying a month in advance. Reviewing the history of Pu'er tea, it is not from prosperity to decline. Dramatically, all this happened in the hometown of Pu'er.

Pu'er City, formerly known as Simao City. Under the fame of Pu'er tea, a controversial name change was completed in 2007. Starting from the same year, the price of Pu'er tea fell all the way and remained depressed for a period of time due to the market shock and the impact of the global financial crisis in 2008. Although the Pu'er tea market has gradually rebounded and rational consumption has been restored, coffee, another important local cash crop, has gradually begun to appear frequently in the eyes of the relevant government and media.

It is not without reason to choose coffee as a substitute. Since the early 1990s, Pu'er City has taken the development of coffee as an advantageous backbone industry to adjust the industrial structure and increase farmers' income. While Pu'er is rich in tea, it is also known as the region with the largest coffee planting area, the best coffee planting environment, the best coffee quality, the largest coffee output and the most promising coffee industry in China.

"there are cases of cutting down Pu'er trees to grow coffee, but after all, this is the behavior of a small number of farmers." When talking about coffee becoming the new favorite of local farmers, Liu Biao, deputy director of the coffee industry development office of Pu'er City in Yunnan Province and president of the Pu'er coffee industry, stressed: "We do not advise farmers to do this, but to develop the coffee industry in an orderly manner."

The planning can not catch up with the actual planting area.

Farmers see coffee as a new way to get rich, and the government has begun to step up efforts to promote the development of the coffee industry.

A reporter from the Daily Economic News found that in recent years, the local government has issued a series of support policies, including "opinions on accelerating the Development of Coffee Industry" and "decision on supporting leading Enterprises in Agricultural industrialization". Even set up industry departments, and set up Pu'er City Coffee Industry Federation to guide and coordinate the healthy development of the city's coffee industry.

In the "Yunnan Coffee Industry Development Plan (2010-2020)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan") jointly compiled by the Yunnan Provincial Development and Reform Commission and the Yunnan Provincial Department of Agriculture, the reporter found such a paragraph, "around the overall goal of 'building our province into a world high-quality coffee bean raw material base, the country's largest finishing industry production base and trade center'. By 2015, the coffee planting area of Yunnan Province has increased to 1 million mu, and by 2020, the coffee planting area of the whole province will be stable at about 1.5 million mu. "

According to the Plan, the coffee seed index of Pu'er City will reach 300000 mu in 2015 and 350000 mu in 2020.

However, the reporter found that the actual development rate of coffee cultivation in Pu'er City has lagged behind the figures in the "plan".

In an interview with CCTV in March 2012, Liu Biao pointed out: "the municipal party committee and municipal government of Pu'er have decided to allocate 20 million yuan a year to support the development of the coffee industry. This year, we will reach 600000 mu, and during the 12th five-year Plan period, we will reach 1 million mu."

In other words, according to Liu Biao's expectation, by the end of 2015, the coffee planting area of Pu'er City alone will reach the planned amount of Yunnan Province; at the same time, for the 350000 mu coffee planting area of Pu'er City in 2020, in fact, Pu'er City has reached it at the beginning of 2012. It is understood that the planting area of Pu'er City at the beginning of the year has reached more than 400,000 mu.

For such a set of data, Liu Biao said frankly in an interview with the Daily Economic News: "in fact, our planting area has reached 270000 mu in 2011." In his view, due to the growth of demand in the domestic market, the growth of coffee acreage in the area is not too fast.

In spite of this, the degree of promotion of the coffee industry in Pu'er City is seen by the outside world as "too fast". At the same time, the rapid development of Pu'er coffee has also attracted the attention of people in the industry. according to Dong Zhihua, vice president of Yunnan Coffee Industry Association and former director of Yunnan Coffee Factory, the problems accumulated by the rapid development of coffee industry in recent years broke out because of the suspension of Nestl é.

Pricing Power and the worry of Industry chain

The problem in Dong Zhihua's mouth is exactly the problem that needs to be solved in the development of coffee industry in Pu'er and even Yunnan Province.

It is understood that Yunnan Province has become the largest coffee cultivation and export base in the country, and coffee exported from Pu'er accounts for 77.8% of Yunnan's coffee exports.

At present, coffee in Yunnan Province is mainly for foreign markets, but this year, large coffee traders around the world, including Newman, have placed no or only small orders with Yunnan exporters.

Dong Zhihua explained to the Daily Economic News: "in previous years, the order of these traders was 1224 containers (containers), or even more." Some orders have been cancelled this year, and even if orders are issued, there are only 1: 4 cabinets. The reason given by these traders is that the quality of Yunnan coffee beans is not good. "

At the same time, the price of coffee beans exported from Yunnan is also lower than the coffee futures price of 90.10 cents in New York. Yunnan is currently facing the situation of export at a low price. Coupled with the reluctance of giant traders and the economic downturn in major coffee-consuming countries, prices have fallen this year. And Dong Zhihua believes that there will be a small drop in this price.

In Dong Zhihua's view, opening up the domestic consumer market is a good choice. "there is no doubt that the domestic coffee consumption market should be the main target market for Yunnan coffee, but most of the domestic consumer market thinks that the quality of Yunnan coffee is average."

Whether it is the picky of international traders, the parity sale of Yunnan coffee beans, or not recognized by the domestic market, all these can be summed up to one point, that is, we should take the development road of high-quality coffee beans.

At present, more than 90% of the coffee output in Yunnan Province is the most primary product of coffee-raw coffee beans, with low added value in the industry.

Dong Zhihua said frankly that high-quality coffee beans is to extend the industrial chain. At present, among the deep-processed products of coffee, there are many articles that can be done only on roasted coffee and instant coffee. "even if the existing output is made into a boutique, even a part of the total, if it can be recognized and purchased by foreign customers, at the initial stage of the extension of the industrial chain, we still need to rely on exports, which is the right direction for the development of primary products.

Not only the enterprises themselves, the Plan points out that although planning has been carried out in 1998 and opinions on supporting and developing the coffee industry have been issued, the relevant departments and localities do not attach importance to and support the coffee industry as an important emerging green and efficient biological industry because of their low understanding and insufficient implementation and support. investment in base infrastructure, scientific and technological innovation, and brand market cultivation is relatively insufficient. In terms of management, it is difficult to form a joint force because of improper system, multi-head management and unclear responsibilities.

"because the development is too fast, including seed problems and technical problems, they cannot be solved very well." Dong Zhihua pointed out, "all these require face-to-face guidance from enterprises, including the Association and Nestl é, and it may take many times for guidance. At present, the whole industry is still moving forward, but we need to slow down slightly and solve some of the problems in the industry. only when it is solved, can the coffee industry develop more quickly and healthily. "

China Coffee Trading Network: www.gafei.com