Coffee Story Coffee Culture in Pu'er Dakaihe Village

There is no winter feeling in Pu'er, Yunnan Province at the end of November. King Ka Nong Middle School in Dakaihe Village, Nanping Town, is drying peeled coffee fruits in his yard. In 2013, many Yunnan farmers, including the veteran coffee farmer, who has been growing coffee for more than 20 years, encountered a series of problems at low purchase prices, approaching the cost line. "although the purchase price of coffee is relatively low, I believe that as long as we stick to it, we will win!" the 74-year-old farmer grabbed a handful of coffee rice and put it in his mouth and told the reporter with a smile.

At present, the international futures price of coffee continues to fall. On November 23, the price of coffee futures in New York was only 107 cents per pound, equivalent to 14.3 yuan per kilogram. This is slightly lower than the current planting cost of Yunnan farmers about 14.67 yuan / kg.

Wang Middle School seemed to disagree with the news. "my intuition tells me that farmers can't switch to other crops as soon as the purchase price falls. Don't be too hasty." Wang Middle School told the reporter.

In the past: persistence is victory.

Wang Middle School's self-confidence is not groundless. Old Canon told reporters that this is the second price reduction since 1999.

In 1999, due to the serious frost disaster, the coffee industry in Yunnan suffered setbacks. The old farmer recalled, "the disaster reduced the purchase price of coffee to about 6 yuan, and since then, the purchase price has not been raised for two consecutive years, and many people in the village have cut down coffee trees to grow other crops. I clenched my teeth at that time." you see, you're still living a good life.

Wang Middle School's persistence was finally rewarded. In 2003, the global coffee price rebounded, which led to the rise of coffee purchase price in Yunnan. This rise has been a good time in the past decade. Also persevering is Zhang Kui of the same village, who has also tasted the benefits of rising prices over the years. Today, the 36-year-old is a famous coffee farmer in the village.

In 1998, Zhang Kuijing was introduced by his fellow villagers and began to grow coffee. However, he never expected that the disaster of the following year would hit him on the head. He, who also chose to insist, became rich and rich at a good time when the price of coffee rose.

More than two years ago, Zhang Kui built the tallest "villa" building in the village. "I spent more than 400,000 yuan on my house, bought a car, and now I have to support 10 workers." He told the reporter proudly.

Learning that the reporter came to interview, Chen Jiahua, who started growing coffee in the same year as Zhang Kui, excitedly drove home from the fields.

In 1998, inspired by the nearby coffee shop, the farmer, who had been growing rice for more than a decade, resolutely abandoned rice coffee. However, the disaster in 1999 depressed Chen Jiahua for a long time, and the continued low purchase price made him think about giving up. In the end, he managed to pull through, and Chen Jiahua was delighted by the rebound in prices. Today, growing coffee has become the main source of income for his family.

Now: there is support behind persistence.

"the south of the colorful clouds, the yearning of the heart, the north wild geese fly south, the colorful is auspicious. The ancient town of Lijiang, the warm sun of Dali, the auspicious snow of Cangshan, the fragrance of flowers at Xiaguan. " A song "Caiyun is full of Coffee" sings the beautiful scenery of Yunnan and the coffee fragrance of Caiyun Holy Land.

Dong Zhihua, vice president of Yunnan Coffee Industry Association, told reporters that the large-scale development of Yunnan coffee industry began in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

In fact, as early as 1988, the world coffee giant Nestl é came to China and, with the help of the government, began to promote the cultivation of small-grain coffee in Yunnan.

Nestl é launched the agricultural technical assistance service project in 1992, opened a pilot and demonstration farm with a total area of 60 hectares in 1997, and stationed agronomic personnel in Pu'er for a long time. In 2011, Nestl é distributed the China Coffee planting Handbook free of charge to coffee growers in Yunnan. In 2012, Nestl é began providing training for local coffee growers. Through the coffee purchasing station set up in Pu'er City, Nestl é has increased the number of coffee beans purchased from Pu'er City from 8000 tons to 10500 tons each year, all of which are supplied to the Nestle factory.

The wealth of the above three farmers is closely related to the Nestl é acquisition. Among them, Chen Jiahua is the latest to cooperate with Nestl é. Since 2000, this experienced curry farmer has not only supplied coffee beans to Nestl é, but also attended Nestl é training courses 8 times.

"the planting techniques they taught me were very useful to me, and the staff of Nestl é became my friends." When it comes to Nestl é, Ka Nong Zhang Kui's gratitude is beyond words.

Future: can spring be far behind when winter comes?

As for the future prospects, Wang Middle School said that next year I plan to expand some planting (area) and increase the output. As for the current difficulties in the low purchase price of coffee, the old farmer also expressed his expectations. "I hope that the purchase price of coffee will be raised again, so that this period of time can pass quickly."

The decline in the international price of coffee is bound to have some impact on the newly developed coffee industry in Yunnan.

In order to solve this problem, the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee and the Yunnan Provincial Government have given more than 10 million yuan for the construction of coffee farms in the major coffee producing areas of Yunnan Province. The Pu'er municipal government, where the three of them are located, has also earmarked more than 10 million of the funds to support enterprises to collect storage fees and discount loans, and actively promote coffee at home and abroad.

With regard to Nestle Coffee's actions in the Chinese market, on the one hand, the company has increased its investment in Yunnan coffee projects to provide training and infrastructure for local farmers through the large-scale project of "Nestle Coffee Center"; on the other hand, the company has accelerated its expansion of production capacity. a new factory with a total investment of 880 million yuan was completed. Behind this is Nestle Coffee's expectation of the Chinese market.

The English poet Shelley once said, if winter comes, can spring be far behind? We believe that the winter of Yunnan coffee will pass and usher in the spring of the industry.