Development status of Mocha Coffee in Yemen

(i) Total output has continued to decline in recent years

Since 2001, coffee production in Yemen has declined year by year due to various reasons. From 11906 tons in 2001, the annual output dropped to 11608 tons in 2003, 11590 tons in 2004 and 11000 tons in 2008. In recent years, Yemen's coffee industry has not thrived, but has shrunk sharply, despite rising prices on the international coffee market. There are two main reasons for the decline in coffee production.

First, water shortages and soil degradation. Water shortage has become a serious constraint on Yemen's economic and social development. Coffee cultivation depends mainly on rainwater and mountain spring water, lacks irrigation facilities, uses water inefficiently and is greatly affected by climate uncertainty. Soil degradation and erosion are serious and the fertility and productivity of the land are weakening.

Second, farmers gave up coffee and planted Carter instead. Coffee has a long growth cycle, high cost and difficult management, while Carter is easy to plant, short growth period and strong demand, so many farmers change their original coffee fields to Carter. While coffee planting area decreases, Carter planting area increases year by year. The shrinking acreage of coffee cultivation and the continuous decline in production, coupled with Yemen's water shortage and pests, have further aggravated coffee cultivation.

(II) Low production of high-quality mocha coffee and lack of quality standards

Although Yemen produces more than 10,000 tons of mocha coffee every year, only about 15 - 20 percent of it meets the import standards of developed countries.

Yemen has a long history of coffee cultivation, but the coffee industry has been in an unorganized and extensive stage of development. Because of the scattered planting, basically a workshop decentralized management, which leads to a great difference in the quality of coffee. There are no uniform standards and specifications for coffee bean picking, drying and frying. Hand-processed coffee is easy to change color, high damage rate, and different moisture content. Farmers 'techniques for growing and processing coffee are passed down from generation to generation, inefficient and unscientific, far behind the trends of the international coffee market.

At the same time, Yemen does not currently have identification standards and quality control systems for coffee, and does not test and classify the quality of coffee in accordance with international practices. The lack of effective guarantee of coffee quality is not conducive to entering the market of developed countries. Some illegal businessmen even replace coffee produced in other countries and regions and pretend to be Yemeni mocha coffee after processing. There is still a long way to go to improve the quality and market competitiveness of Yemeni coffee.