Global arabica coffee price rise not helping Indonesian farmers

A farmer harvests robusta coffee in the village of Ciakar, located near Mount Galunggung in Tasikmalaya regency, West Java, in June 2020. - Jakarta Post/ANN

JAKARTA, June 20 (The Jakarta Post/ANN): Global arabica coffee prices rose 16 per cent year-on-year (yoy) to US$3.63 per kg in the first quarter of 2021, continuing a longer-term uptrend, according to World Bank data, but Indonesian coffee farmers have seen no increase in income.

Data from the Trade Ministry’s Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) shows that the domestic arabica coffee price, set by the Indonesian Coffee Exporters Association (AEKI), dropped by 40 per cent from Rp 60, 000 to Rp 36, 000 per kg from April 1, 2020, to April 1, 2021.