Main Asian coffee producers to boost consumption
Main Asian coffee producers to boost consumption
NUSA DUA, Bali (Reuter): Leading coffee producers in Asia and the Pacific will seek to boost consumption of the beverage as per capita incomes in the fast-growing region rise, an Indonesian official said yesterday.
Paian Nainggolan said the 14-member Association of Coffee Producing Countries (ACPC) will examine ways to boost consumption during a meeting on Thursday under the aegis of the Economic and Social Commission for the Asia-Pacific region (ESCAP), an affiliate of the United Nations.
The meeting on the island of Bali follows a three-day session of the 61-member International Coffee Organization (ICO), which groups producers and consumers.
"With the economic miracle sweeping across the Asia-Pacific region, there's no reason for us not to consider increasing coffee consumption in the region," Nainggolan, a former chairman of the ICO's international coffee council, said.
He said producers in the region accounted for some 40 percent of global robusta coffee output, and this was expected to exceed 50 percent by the year 2000.
The robusta variety is known for its bitter flavor and is mixed with the more expensive arabica in portions that are considered a trade secret. Arabica is mostly grown in Latin America, while Asian and African countries grow robusta.
Indonesia is the world's largest producer of robusta and third in overall coffee production after Brazil and Colombia.
Nainggolan said China would be one of the targets for promoting coffee consumption.
"China will be one of the targets for promotion in 1997 for the ICO," he said.
The London-based ICO estimates that some 100 million Chinese have the purchasing power to drink coffee on a regular basis.
Nainggolan said ESCAP could help by undertaking a study on the types of coffee people in the region would like to drink, and another on ways to promote coffee consumption.
He said coffee consumption in the region was still relatively low. For example, per capita consumption in Indonesia is 0.5 kg (one lb) compared with 12 kg (26 pounds) in Norway.
"Indonesia has a very big potential," he said, adding that annual consumption was around 120,000 tons among its 200 million people.
Nainggolan also said that Asia-Pacific producers, as part of their bid to boost consumption, would invite representatives from consuming countries in the region to their future meetings. He said growing affluence in the region would see more young people drinking gourmet coffee.
The ICO said in a report that domestic consumption in coffee exporting countries was expected to be 23.5 million 60-kg bags in 1996/97 (October/September) from 22.9 million in 1995/96.
ICO executive director Celsius Lodder said late last month that the Far East and Eastern Europe held the best prospects for future coffee consumption with high growth rates also expected in other emerging markets like the Middle East and North Africa.