Coffee growers call for pricing formula

THERE should be a pricing formula for coffee in the country to ensure that growers are properly paid for their produce from buyers, a coffee smallholder said yesterday.
Chairman of the Eastern Highlands Coffee Smallholders Association John Inerehu stated that the query for coffee prices raised by growers in Morobe’s Menyamya in a media report in The National on Wednesday was valid and needed to be investigated and a solution be sought to ratify it.
The report said growers were being paid K5 per kilo when two weeks ago it was at K7.50 per kilo.
Inerehu said there had not been any reason given for the drop in prices and called on the Coffee Industry Corporation to investigate the problem.
He said, though there were many buyers in the country, they must be fair in their pricing.
He said buyers must also come out and explain to the growers why they were charging K5 per kilo when current world prices stated growers should be paid between K7 and K7.50 per kilogram landing price.