Sell coffee while price still good: President

THE price of coffee is expected to fall and coffee farmers must start harvesting their coffee to sell, Farmers and Settlers Association Inc president Wilson Thompson says.
He said the price rose from K4.70 parchment price per kilogramme in January last year to over K10 per kg in January this year but could fall below K8 this month.
“The reasons for price increase was the snowfall that affected production in Columbia and the Coronavirus (Covid-19) that effected shipping and global supply lines.
He said the fall in price was due to a lack of government funding to prop up prices, slow recovery of coffee crops after frost and production, the war in Ukraine affecting coffee buying including movement, fuel surcharges and Government taxes and fee increases on vehicles and wharf fees, and the Coffee Industry Corporation’s 100 per cent levy on production.
“While coffee prices are going down to around K8 per kilo of parchment this month, the farmers income is cut down again due to poor roads so vehicle owner’s deduct K1 to K2 per bag and also the coffee berry borer’s effect on the crops.”
Thompson said it was unlikely the industry would get any kind of state intervention until after September when the new government was in place.
He urged farmers to harvest and sell their coffee while the price was still good.